■•WmHffiM 


FESr 


:."-: 


fm 


HlSKfiSJlK 


fSSm 


HHP 


'■''-».■:> 


■  ''■'   i  "■*'  ■  v 

wBSBm  j  9  e 

■  -■---«■ 


CO 


£?  ft      /'""""V    £^       <^5 


3, 


vr 


^AHVaaitt^         y0M 


tAJMK 


? 


.\Wf-UNIVERS/A 


<Tii30NV-S01^ 


^E-UNIVERfo. 
<TJ133NV-S01^ 


.*ios 


6 


^HIBRARYQ^       -j^UIB 


£ 


^UJViJaiH^7     ^om 


\*\E-UNIVER% 


S      3 


53AE-UNIVERS/A      ^clOS-, 


AWUNIVtltf//, 


o 
<Til30NVS01^ 


o 


^ui-ialii-u 


^mainih^        y<?Aiivjiain^      ^oxmm 


^•UBRARY^ 


=0 

^OJITVD-JO^ 


^ILIBRARY^ 
&  1   ir^  ^ 


aWEUNIVERS/a 


<rjl3DNV$0V^ 


^lOSMEl 


.^OKAl!F0%, 


ytfAavNgiB^ 


H.OFCAliFO^ 


^EUNIVER% 


5Si  i 


'^130MVS0T 


^ 


vlOSANGEl 


"%!3AINfl-3 


5WEUNIVERS//, 


^EUNIVERS/A 


<fJl3DNYS(n^ 


vVVOSANCELFj> 


s  5 


^UONVSOl^        %JI3AINf 


I  sV^ 


a  <c 


jr 


-^HIBRARYQa 


2  1    ^/^ 


£ 


=0 

5r^ 


^ 


•OF-CALIF0% 
■7. 


^.OFCALIFO 


y0Aava8ii- 


^vHIBRARY^ 


%0JIW3-J0^ 


I/W)i  I 


=a 


^MEUNIVERy/A 


vvVOSAKCEL 


"%M 


^•OFCAIIFO^ 


\^ 


Vt~ 


1? 


AWEUNIVER^/a       ^lOSANGE 


RHETORIC 

ITS    THEORY   AND    PRACTICE 


/-/  2-  W 


RHETORIC 


ITS   THEORY   AND    PRACTICE 


"Enolisb  Stsle  in  public  discourse " 


BY 

AUSTIN    PHELPS,    D.D. 

LATE    BARTLET    PROFESSOR    OF    SACRED    RHETORIC    IN    ANDOVER 
THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

AND 

HENRY   ALLYN   FRINK,    Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR    OF    LOGIC,    RHETORIC,    AND    PUBLIC    SPEAKING    IN    AMHERST    COLLEGE 

AND  FORMERLY  PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE  AND  ENGLISH 

IN   HAMILTON   COLLEGE 

STATENORMAL  SCHOOL, 

[JOB  AHGBOE.  ••-',a| 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES     SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

i395 


Copyright,  1895,  by 
CHARLES   SCRIBXER'S  SONS 


*%.* Examples  are  published  from  Professor  Earle's  "English  Prose,"  from 
Hodgson's  "Errors  of  Speech"  and  from  Dr.  Abbott's  "How  to  Write 
Clearly,"  through  the  courtesy  of  Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  Messrs. 
D.  Appleton  er5  Co. ,  and  Messrs.  Macmillan  &*  Co. ,  respectively. 


TROW  DIRECTORY 

PRINTING  AND   BOOKBINDING  COMPANY 

New  YORK 


PREFACE 


One  of  the  most  valuable  works  that  we  have  on  the  sub- 
ject which  it  treats  is  "  English  Style  in  Public  Discourse." 
When  these  lectures,  which  were  originally  delivered  by  the 
late  lamented  Professor  Phelps  to  the  students  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  were  given  to  the  public,  twelve 
years  ago,  their  rare  merit  was  at  once  recognized.  Nor  is 
"  English  Style  in  Public  Discourse  "  to  lose  its  place  in  the 
first  rank  of  standard  works  on  the  characteristics  and  use 
of  our  language.  The  philosophical  basis  on  which  it  rests  ; 
the  clear,  interesting,  and  inspiring  presentation  of  the  sub- 
ject ;  the  wealth  of  illustrations  from  the  choicest  fields  of 
literature  ;  the  fine,  discriminating  taste  of  its  criticisms  and 
suggestions  ;  the  broad  culture  and  good  sense  which  mark 
its  treatment  of  disputed  points,  make  the  book  of  perma- 
nent worth  for  reference  and  general  reading.  For  such 
purposes  the  book  may  be  still  obtained  in  the  form  in 
which  it  first  appeared.  The  publishers  and  the  writer  have 
thought,  however,  that  these  lectures,  with  alterations  and 
additions,  might  have  a  larger  usefulness  where  their  influ- 
ence seems  especially  to  be  needed,  as  a  means  of  rhetor- 
ical instruction  in  our  schools  and  colleges.  An  examina- 
tion of  "  English  Style  in  Public  Discourse  "  in  its  present 
form  will,  therefore,  show  that  it  is  a  text-book  which  has 
peculiar  claims  to  the  consideration  of  teachers  of  rhetoric. 

I.  It  aims  with  constant  directness  at  the  main  purpose 
in  the  study  of  rhetoric,  which  is  to  give  power  to  present 
effectively  the  thought  of  the  writer  or  speaker  to  the  reader 
or  hearer.     These   lectures  were  prepared   to  teach  young 


VI  PREFACE 

men  how  to  write  and  to  speak,  who  were  almost  immedi- 
ately to  put  to  the  test  every  direction  and  suggestion  made 
by  their  teacher,  as  they  spoke  on  matters  the  most  impor- 
tant that  can  command  human  attention.  For  this  reason, 
the  book  does  not  resemble  in  its  interest  and  stimulus  the 
conventional  text-book.  Its  instructions,  thorough  and 
complete  as  they  are,  have  not  the  spirit  of  the  drill  ser- 
geant, but  of  the  officer  who  would  prepare  his  soldiers  to 
move  into  instant  action.  Hence,  the  book  will  not  seem 
to  the  student  a  treatise  on  rhetorical  terms  and  processes 
with  which  to  be  acquainted  theoretically  is  enough.  It  is  a 
book  that,  as  he  will  soon  learn,  has  for  its  one  purpose  to 
make  him  the  immediate  master  of  these  terms  and  proc- 
esses, and  all  other  rhetorical  resources  for  a  practical  end. 
Recognizing,  as  the  student  must,  this  purpose,  and  feeling, 
as  he  will,  its  inspiration,  he  will  not  share  the  indifference, 
and  possibly  aversion,  which  so  many  have  to  the  study  of 
rhetoric  ;  for  he  will  see  the  end  of  its  instruction  to  be  too 
real  and  vital  for  him  to  find  in  the  means  no  interest. 

II.  The  point  of  view  from  which  the  student  considers 
the  subject  is  also  attractive  and  invigorating.  When  style 
seems  to  be  only  a  dexterous  manipulation  of  words,  and 
composition  mere  verbal  mechanism,  the  student  is  kept 
from  the  sources  of  his  power  and  skill  as  a  writer  and 
speaker,  and  so  from  any  progressive  enjoyment  in  his  work. 
But  at  every  step  this  book  shows  that  it  is  thought  which 
is  the  basis  of  style  and  the  source  of  its  power  and  charm  ; 
and,  that  only  in  the  conscientious  observance  of  these  es- 
sential relations  between  thought  and  style  are  to  be  gained 
clearness,  force,  and  beauty  of  expression. 

III.  This  book  keeps  constantly  before  the  student  not 
only  the  dependence  of  style  on  thought,  but  also,  what  is 
of  great  practical  importance,  the  true  relation  of  the  writer 
to  his  reader  or  the  speaker  to  his  hearer.  Of  two  large 
classes  of  writers  and  speakers,  one  class  evidently  under- 


PREFACE  vii 

stands  the  subject,  but  not  the  subject  in  relation  to  the 
reader  or  hearer  ;  the  other  class  has  not  simply  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  but  also  of  the  means  by  which 
it  is  to  be  made  effective  with  those  to  whom  it  is  especially 
addressed.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  who  are  the  writers 
and  speakers  of  power.  The  lectures  which  form  the  foun- 
dation of  this  book  were  prepared  originally,  as  has  been  in- 
timated, to  teach  young  men  the  art  of  oral  address.  This 
means  that  a  guiding  influence  in  its  instruction  are  the  re- 
lations between  those  who  write  and  speak  and  those  who 
read  and  hear. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  there  is  a  large 
range  of  composition  not  intended  to  be  spoken,  yet  which, 
to  be  effective  in  its  purpose,  must  have  the  directness, 
force,  and  pointedness  of  oral  address.  In  fact,  nearly  all 
successful  composition — except,  perhaps,  the  higher  forms 
of  literature,  which  are  not  a  means,  but  in  themselves  an 
end — is  marked  by  these  characteristics  of  the  spoken  word. 
One  of  the  most  common  mistakes  in  rhetorical  training,  is 
the  failure  to  make  the  necessary  distinction  between  this 
kind  of  composition  and  that  of  the  purely  literary  type. 
Said  a  well-known  professor  of  sacred  rhetoric  in  one  of 
our  most  prominent  theological  seminaries  :  "  It  is  not 
often  that  I  find  a  college  graduate  who  is  able,  in  his  writ- 
ing, to  distinguish  between  composition  addressed  to  the 
reader  and  to  the  hearer.  I  am,  therefore,  compelled  to 
undo  largely  the  rhetorical  work  of  the  college  course  be- 
fore the  student  can  put  his  sermon  into  a  form  which  he 
can  deliver,  and  to  which  a  congregation  will  listen." 

Literature  proper  which  appeals  to  the  thought,  the  im- 
agination, the  sensibilities,  simply  through  the  eye,  is  but 
slightly  subject  to  the  rules  of  rhetoric.  The  essential  ele- 
ments of  literary  power  and  beauty  are  indefinable,  illusive, 
and  are  not  to  be  communicated  by  direct  instruction.  The 
formal  study  of  rhetoric  will,  therefore,  be  at  the  most  no 


Vlll  PREFACE 

more  than  a  preliminary  step  in  helping  to  produce  the  suc- 
cessful sketch,  story,  or  literary  and  critical  essay. 

If,  however,  "  the  oral,"  as  Professor  Earle  says  in  his 
"  English  Prose,"  "  is  the  source  and  parent  of  all  that  is  de- 
veloped in  the  literary,"  rhetorical  training  has  a  province 
largely  and  immediately  fruitful  in  that  broad  range  of 
practical  composition,  which,  because  it  is  so  closely  allied 
to  oral  address,  permits  instruction  to  be  definite,  positive, 
and  helpful.  But  while  this  book  perhaps  stands  alone  as  a 
text-book  for  schools  and  colleges  in  its  peculiar  adaptation 
to  teach  oral  address,  its  range  of  instruction  will  be  found 
to  include  all  the  rhetorical  processes  that  can  be  directly 
taught  with  any  degree  of  clearness  and  definiteness,  and, 
hence  with  any  measure  of  profit. 

IV.  A  fourth  claim  that  this  book  has  to  consideration  is 
that  indirectly  it  prepares  for  the  study  of  English  liter- 
ature. This  is  not  because  it  attempts  to  teach  how  to  write 
a  poem,  to  plan  a  story,  or  to  portray  a  character.  It  is  be- 
cause the  book  in  its  original  form  is  the  product  of  a  rare 
culture,  and  will  give  unconsciously  that  invaluable  prepara- 
tion for  the  study  of  literature  which  comes  from  intimate 
association  with  the  highest  type  of  literary  taste  and  train- 
ing. Nor  have  these  lectures  simply  the  literary  spirit. 
They  abound  also  in  delightful  references  to  the  lives  and 
works  of  representative  writers,  as  well  as  draw  largely 
their  illustrations  from  the  best  that  is  to  be  found  in  lit- 
erature. If  such  means  fail  to  help  awaken  an  early  in- 
terest in  literary  studies  and  to  serve  in  forming  a  good 
literary  taste,  it  may  be  asked  whence  is  to  come  the 
influence  ? 

V.  Another  peculiar  advantage  which  this  book  offers  is 
the  use  that  may  be  made  of  it  in  recitation  and  examina- 
tion. A  large  practical  acquaintance  with  students  in  writ- 
ing and  speaking  shows  me  that  young  men  now  in  college 
have  not  the  ease  and  power  of  expression,  oral  or  written, 


PREFACE  IX 

which  students  of  the  same  age  had  several  years  ago. 
This,  I  believe,  is  to  be  accounted  for  mainly  by  the  pre- 
vailing methods  of  instruction.  The  student,  in  the  class- 
room, has  not  the  daily  drill  in  standing  before  his  class 
and  making  an  extended  recitation,  which  formerly  was  an 
unconscious  means  of  developing  and  training  his  powers 
of  speech.  Written  examinations  as  most  often  conducted 
are  not  to  be  accepted  as  a  substitute  for  this  exercise. 
Whatever  their  benefits  in  other  directions,  they  are,  as  a 
rule,  not  an  aid  but  a  hindrance  to  a  command  of  language. 
Even  increased  attention,  in  secondary  schools,  to  studies 
in  English  literature — if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  examina- 
tion papers,  recently  published  by  Harvard  University,  that 
are  presented  by  students  for  entrance  to  college — does  not 
seem  as  yet  to  give  practical  power  in  the  use  of  English. 

But  if  "  the  oral,"  to  repeat  Professor  Earle's  statement, 
"  is  the  source  and  parent  of  all  that  is  developed  in  the 
literary,"  then  surely  some  opportunity  ought  to  be  given 
the  student,  in  a  course  in  rhetoric  at  least,  to  develop  and 
train  this  power  of  oral  expression.  What  is  the  value  of 
such  training  I  know  from  an  extended  observation.  For 
eight  or  nine  years  I  made  it  a  feature  of  an  early  course 
in  rhetoric  with  college  classes,  to  have,  for  a  part  of  each 
hour,  a  topical  recitation  of  several  minutes  from  certain 
members  of  the  class.  The  student  was  required  to  give 
the  substance  of  the  lecture  in  his  words,  with  the  under- 
standing, that,  in  this  particular  exercise,  the  merit  of  his 
work  depended  as  much  on  the  good  form  of  his  expression 
as  on  the  evidence  of  his  knowledge  of  the  especial  theme 
of  the  day.  As  the  same  student,  in  the  later  years  of  his 
course,  stood  before  me  in  the  extemporaneous  work  of  de- 
bates, or  as  he  prepared  in  written  form  his  oration,  dis- 
cussion, or  essay,  he  gave  unmistakable  proof  of  the  value 
of  that  early  discipline.  Students  coming  from  other  insti- 
tutions who  had  not  been  so  trained,  always  acknowledged 


X  PREFACE 

their  disadvantage  in  competition  with  men  who,  in  recita- 
tion, for  a  year,  had  been  subjected  to  such  rigorous  exer- 
cise in  this  most  practical  form  of  composition. 

We  say  to  the  student  "  speak  as  you  talk  !  write  as  you 
talk  !"  But  what  opportunities  do  we  give  him  to  talk  on 
subjects  similar  to  those  on  which  we  expect  him  to  write 
or  to  speak  ?  For  the  purpose  of  giving  such  opportunities, 
and,  therefore,  such  training,  the  method  of  presentation  in 
this  book  is  especially  adapted.  The  orderly  plan  in  the 
treatment  of  each  division  of  the  subject,  and  the  full  am- 
plification and  illustration  of  every  principle  and  process, 
with  the  analysis  which  I  have  provided  for  each  chapter, 
afford  opportunity  for  the  best  kind  of  exercise,  in  repro- 
ducing the  thought  of  the  author  in  the  expression  of  the 
student. 

The  chapters  of  the  book  are  also  equally  well  adapted  for 
reproduction  in  written  work.  No  better  exercise  in  early 
composition  can  be  required  than  for  the  student  to  repro- 
duce in  the  class-room,  without  the  book,  one,  two,  or  more 
chapters,  according  to  the  general  plan  and  its  various  divi- 
sions, with  the  examples  and  illustrations  under  each  divi- 
sion of  the  subject  of  the  chapter. 

VI.  To  make  this  work  complete  as  a  text-book  for 
schools  and  colleges  I  have  added  Part  II.,  which  consists 
mainly  of  practical  examples  and  exercises  that  illustrate 
fully  every  principle  and  process  of  the  most  important 
chapters.  These  examples  and  exercises  in  number  go  into 
the  hundreds,  and  are  of  such  wide  range  and  variety  as  to 
give  the  student  not  only  adequate  practice  in  each  element 
of  style,  but  also  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  promi- 
nent characteristics  of  the  English  language. 

Exercises  of  a  large  number  have  been  so  arranged  that 
in  their  preparation  the  student  must  consult  dictionaries 
and  other  works  of  reference,  and  by  independent  inves- 
tigation and  study  reach  his  conclusion,  and  prepare  him- 


PREFACE  XI 

self  to  defend  it  before  the  teacher  and  the  class.  Some  of 
the  work  in  this  direction  will  be  found  to  be  of  the  high- 
est value  ;  and  none  of  it,  I  am  sure,  will  fail  to  reward  well 
the  time  and  thought  which  the  student  and  the  teacher 
may  give  to  the  exercise.  While  it  is  hoped  that  the 
method  indicated  by  these  exercises  will  be  closely  fol- 
lowed, yet  there  are  examples  and  exercises  in  great  num- 
ber which  can  be  prepared  by  using  only  the  text-book. 

It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  in  regard  to  examples 
about  which  critics  and  general  good  usage  are  at  variance, 
I  have,  as  a  rule,  referred  the  student  to  the  works  where 
these  points  are  fully  discussed.  This  has  been  done  that 
the  student  may  early  see  what  is  the  relative  authority  of 
usage  and  of  the  laws  of  language.  Moreover,  in  no  other 
way,  at  this  period  of  his  studies,  can  he  so  well  learn  the 
characteristics  of  English  speech  as  by  following,  with  the 
guidance  of  his  teacher,  some  of  the  discussions  to  which  I 
have  referred  him.  When  opinions  have  been  indicated  in 
the  exercises  on  these  disputed  matters,  the  decision  has 
not  been  so  much  from  the  arbitrary  point  of  view  of  the 
purist,  as  it  has  been  in  accordance  with  the  needs  of  the 
language  and  the  usage  of  good  writers  and  speakers. 
The  student  should  be  kept  from  license  in  the  use  of  Eng- 
lish ;  but  he  should  be  permitted  also  to  know  the  full 
liberty  of  our  noble  speech. 

The  reason  why  examples  and  exercises  have  not  been 
provided  for  the  chapters  on  Elegance  and  Naturalness,  is 
because  I  think  that  these  elements  of  style  are  not  to  be 
taught  directly  by  formal  application  of  rule  and  process. 
If  taught  at  all  beyond  the  general  instruction  of  the  chap- 
ters, they  will  be  taught  by  finer  methods,  which  the  defects 
or  aptitudes  of  the  individual  student  must  largely  deter- 
mine. 

In  adapting  to  the  requirements  of  a  text-book  for 
schools  and    colleges  the   lectures  of  Professor   Phelps,   I 


XU  PREFACE 

have  reduced  them  by  omissions,  condensation,  and  alter- 
ations nearly  one  third.  Great  care  has  been  taken,  how- 
ever, that  the  continuity  of  thought  should  not  be  broken, 
nor  the  force  of  its  presentation  weakened.  Not  to  deprive 
the  book  of  its  original  life  and  interest,  a  number  of  illus- 
trations has  been  retained  that  in  an  ordinary  text-book 
would  probably  be  rejected.  If  the  book  is  used  in  recita- 
tion and  examination,  as  has  been  suggested,  the  illustra- 
tions will  not  seem  too  many.  Should  circumstances  not 
favor  this  method  of  work,  the  book  may  be  successfully 
used  with  various  other  methods.  While  it  may  be  said 
that  the  book  is  unique  in  its  adaptation  to  certain  kinds  of 
rhetorical  work,  it  is  a  flexible  text-book.  In  connection 
with  the  examples  and  exercises  which  go  with  the  first 
eighteen  chapters,  it  is  possible  not  simply  to  vary  the  in- 
struction from  class  to  class,  but  to  give  each  student  work 
fitted  to  his  especial  needs  or  gifts  at  almost  every  step  in 
the  course. 

Henry  Allyn  Frink. 

Amherst  College,  September  27,  1894. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I 
ENGLISH   STYLE 

CHAPTER   I 

Style 

PAGE 

Style  defined  by  Wordsworth,  Swift,  and  Buffon — Style  defined  by 
the  Author — Popular  Conception  of  Style  as  Sophistry  or  Or- 
nament— Qualities  of  Style  as  Qualities  of  Thought — Classifica- 
tion of  the  Fundamental  Qualities  of  Style — Purity  and  Precision — 
Individuality  —  Perspicuity,  Energy,  Elegance  —  Naturalness — 
Reasons  why  Individuality  should  not  be  Studied  as  a  Quality  of 
Style I 

CHAPTER   II 
Purity  of  Style 

Its  Definition — Its  Standards — The  Laws  of  Language  and  Usage — 
Restrictions  on  Usage — Present  Usage — National  Usage — Rep- 
utable Usage, 10 

CHAPTER   III 

Violations  of  Purity  of  Style 

Obsolete  and  Obsolescent  Words — James  Russell  Lowell's  Test — The 
Obsolete  in  Poetry,  in  Prayer,  in  Ordinary  Discourse  —  New 
Words — Absolute  Creations  —  Contractions  —  Expansions — New 
Words  Formed  Facetiously — New  Words  by  Union  of  Greek 
Terminations  and  Old  Substantives,  by  Compounding  Old 
Words, 19 


XIV  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IV 
Violations  of  Purity  of  Style  (Continued) 

PAGE 

New  Words  a  Necessity — Six  Principles  by  which  to  test  New  Words 
— Importation  of  Foreign  Words  ;  often  caused  by  Pedantry,  by 
Undue  Regard  for  Etymology,  by  the  Composite  Character  of 
English — Provincialisms — Vulgarisms, 27 

CHAPTER   V 
Reasons  for  the  Cultivation  of  Purity  of  Style 

Value  of  Purity  of  Style — -Purity  the  Foundation  of  the  Most  Effec- 
tive Style — An  Aid  to  Perspicuity,  to  Energy,  to  the  Best  Re- 
sults of  Public  Oral  Discourse — Testimony  of  Literary  Authority — 
Rapid  Spread  of  English — English  the  Language  of  Colonization 
and  of  Commerce, 37 

CHAPTER   VI 

Purity  of  Style  (Concluded) 

Reasons  for  its  Cultivation  (Continued) — Danger  that  the  English  Lan- 
guage will  be  Corrupted  in  this  Country  ;  by  Republican  Influence, 
by  Extent  of  Territory  ;  by  Variety  of  the  Immigrants — Means  of 
Acquiring  Purity  of  Style — Classic  Conversation — Classic  Au- 
thorship— Use  of  Treatises  on  Language — Habits  of  Composing,     45 

CHAPTER  VII 
Precision  of  Style 

Its  Definition — Its  Violations  by  the  Omission  of  Single  Words  ;  by 
the  Wrong  Use  or  the  Omission  of  "It;"  by  Wrong  Use  of 
Moods  and  Tenses  of  Verbs  ;  by  Wrong  Use  of  Connectives,  .     .     54 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Precision  of  Style  (Continued) 

Its  Violation  by  a  Confused  Use  of  Literal  and  Figurative  Words  ;  by 
Confounding  Synonyms  and  Words  Similar  in  Orthography  ;  by 
Defect  in  the  Number  of  Words  ;  by  Excessive  Conciseness  ;  by 
Excessive  Redundancy  ;  by  Looseness  of  Construction,  ....     60 


CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTER   IX 

Precision  of  Style  (Continued) 

PAGE 

Causes  of  the  Formation  of  a  Loose  Style — Indiscriminate  Thinking — 
Excessive  Care  for  Expression — Want  of  Command  of  Language 
— Means  of  Acquiring  a  Command  of  Language  ;  by  Power  to 
Select  and  Reject  Words  ;  by  Critical  Study  and  Use  of  Language  ; 
by  Knowledge  of  the  Synonyms  of  Words,  of  the  Figurative  Uses 
of  Words  ;  by  Retentive  Control  of  a  Good  Vocabulary— Com- 
mand of  Language  an  Acquisition  not  a  Gift — The  Vocabulary 
of  Effective  Speech  not  Voluminous, 68 

CHAPTER   X 

Precision  of  Style  (Concluded) 

Popular  Idea  of  a  Precise  Style— Inducements  to  the  Cultivation  of  a 
Precise  Style — It  is  not  Pedantic  ;  it  promotes  Perspicuity,  Energy, 
Elegance,  and  Genuineness  of  Style  ;  it  is  approved  for  Its  Own 
Sake  ;  it  is  a  Popular  Style, 79 

CHAPTER   XI 

Perspicuity  of  Style 

Its  Foundation  in  Clearness  of  Thought — Obscurity  from  Absence  of 
Thought ;  from  Vagueness  of  Thought  ;  from  the  Affectation  of 
Profound  Thought ;  from  Real  Profoundness  of  Thought  ;  from 
Rapidity  in  the  Succession  of  Thought, 87 

CHAPTER   XII 

Perspicuity  of  Style  (Continued) 

Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  the  Use  of  Imagery  ;  by  Incongruous 
Imagery  ;  by  Mixed  Imagery  ;  by  Learned  Imagery  ;  by  Excess  of 
Imagery  ;  by  Entire  Absence  of  Imagery — Perspicuity  as  Affected 
by  the  Words  of  Discourse  ;  by  Absence  of  a  Saxon  Style  ;  by  Use 
of  Ambiguous  Words,  of  General  for  Specific  Words,  of  Abstract 
for  Concrete  Words  ;  by  Excessive  Diffuseness  ;  by  Excessive 
Conciseness, 96 


XVI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Perspicuity  of  Style  (Continued) 

PAGE 

Perspicuity  of  Construction — Defective  Arrangement  of  Pronouns  and 
Antecedents — Repetition  of  Pronouns  with  Different  Antece- 
dents— Defective  Arrangement  of  Adjectives  and  Adverbs — De- 
fective Arrangement  of  Qualifying  Clauses, 107 

CHAPTER   XIV 

Perspicuity  of  Style  (Concluded) 

Wrong  Order  of  Thought  in  the  Whole  Structure — Excessive  or  Care- 
less Use  of  Ellipsis — Abuse  of  the  Parenthesis — Use  of  the  Ana- 
coluthon — The  Introduction  of  Irrelevant  Matter, 116 

CHAPTER   XV 

Energy  of  Style 

Its  Definition — Improper  Subjects  of  Energetic  Expressions — Unim- 
portant Thought — Indefinite  Thought — Conditions  of  Forcible 
Composition — Enthusiasm — An  Immediate  Object  in  View — Self- 
Possession,   124 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Energy  and  Language 

Energy  as  Promoted  by  the  Use  of  Pure  Words,  of  Specific  Words,  of 
Short  Words,  of  Words  whose  Sound  is  Significant  of  their  Sense 
— Conciseness  as  an  Element  of  Energy — Tautology — Verbose- 
ness— Circumlocution  of  Thought, 134 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Energy  and  Language  (Continued) 

Exception  in  which  Conciseness  is  not  Favorable  to  Energy  ;  in  Affec- 
tation of  Conciseness  ;  in  Composition  requiring  Diffuseness  ;  in 
Descriptive  Writing  ;  in  Expressing  Intense  Emotion — Construc- 
tion of  the  Sentence  an  Element  of  Energy— The  Placing  of 
Emphatic  Words — The  Use  and  the  Omission  of  Conjunctive  Be- 
ginnings— The  Use  of  the  Periodic  Structure — Advantages  of  the 
Period, 145 


CONTENTS  XVli 

CHAPTER   XVIII 

Energy  and  Language  (Concluded) 

PAGE 

Energy  as  Promoted  by  Rhetorical  Figure — Climax — Anthesis — In- 
terrogation— Colloquy — Hyperbole — Irony  —  Exclamation  —  Vis- 
ion— Apostrophe,        156 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Elegance  of  Style 

Its  Definition — Elegance  of  Style  Dependent  on  Delicacy  of  Thought 
— Smallness  of  Object  Essential  to  Beauty — Feminine  Qualities 
of  Truth — Prejudice  Against  an  Elegant  Style — Intensified  by  our 
Temperament — Aggravated  by  Literary  Affectations — Answers  to 
this  Prejudice — Means  of  Acquiring  Delicacy  of  Thought ;  by  Cul- 
tivating Refinement  of  Perception  ;  by  Believing  it  a  Possible  At- 
tainment for  Everyone,         164 

CHAPTER  XX 

Elegance  of  Style  (Continued) 

Offences  Against  Elegance  of  Style  in  Choice  and  Arrangement  of 
Words  ;  in  Construction  ;  in  Imagery,  Inelegant  Imagery,  Com- 
monplace Imagery,  Unfinished  Imagery,  Mongrel  Imagery — Ele- 
gance as  an  Aid  to  other  Qualities  of  Style — Elegance  and 
Energy — Chief  Peril  of  a  Studied  Beauty, 171 


CHAPTER   XXI 

Elegance  oe  Style  (Concluded) 

Vividness  as  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style — Demands  of  Vividness 
— Distinctness  of  Thought — Sensitiveness  of  Feeling — Simplicity 
of  Language — An  Easy  Command  of  Imagery — Variety  as  an 
Element  of  Elegance  of  Style — Means  of  Acquiring  Variety — Ver- 
satility of  Thought — Varied  Means  of  Presenting  a  Subject — Va- 
ried Vocabulary  and  Constructions — Varied  Illustrations — Varied 
Delivery, 180 


XV  111  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Naturalness  of  Style 

PAGE 

Its  Definition — Relation  to  all  other  Qualities  of  Style — Characteristics 
of  Naturalness — Fitness  of  Style  to  Subject — Fitness  of  Style  to 
the  Relations  of  Hearers — Fitness  of  Style  to  the  Relations  of 
the  Speaker — Characteristics  of  Unnaturalness — An  Apologetic 
Style — An  Apathetic  Style — Naturalness  Adapted  to  Oral  Discourse 
— Means  of  Acquiring  Naturalness  of  Style — Mastery  of  Subject 
— Self-forgetfulness  in  Composing — Absorbing  Interest  in  the 
Aim  of  Discourse — Practice  of  Composition, 192 


PART  II 

PRACTICAL    EXERCISES    IN    THE    FUNDA- 
MENTAL QUALITIES  OF  ENGLISH  STYLE 

EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE 

(CHAPTERS  II.,    III.,    IV.,    V.,    AND    VI.    OF   PART  l) 

Obsolete  and  Obsolescent  Words — Contractions  and  Abbreviations — 
Expansion  of  Old  Words — New  Words — Americanisms — Amer- 
ican and  English  Usage  of  Words — Words  Condemned  by  Verbal 
Critics — Colloquial  Words,  Cant,  and  Slang — Errors  in  the  Use  of 
Prepositions — Miscellaneous  Errors, 209 

Exercises  Without  Reference   to   Dictionaries    and  Other 

Books 

Notes  by  Professor  Phelps  on  Violations  of  Purity — Exercise  in  Apply- 
ing the  Criticisms  of  Professor  Phelps, 229 

EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE 

(CHAPTERS   VII.,  VIII.,    IX.    AND    X.    OF    TART    i) 

Errors  in  the  Use  of  "  It  " — Errors  in  Comparison — Errors  in  the 
Use  of  Tenses — Errors  in  the  Use  of  Verbs  from  Ellipsis — Errors 
in  the  Use  of  the  Subjunctive  Mood — Errors  in   the   Use  of   Con- 


CONTENTS  XIX 


nectives — Errors  in  the  Use  of  Synonyms  and  of  Words  of 
Similar  Orthography — Blunders  in  Construction — Synonyms  to 
be  prepared  from  Worcester's  Unabridged  Dictionary — From 
Webster's  International  Dictionary, 24S 

Exercises  Without  Reference  to    Dictionaries  and   Other 

Books 

Notes  by  Professor  Phelps  on  Violations  of  Precision, 265 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE 

(CHAPTERS   XI.,     XII.,    XIII.,    AND    XIV.     OF   PART    i) 

Figurative  Language— Saxon-English  Words  Substituted  for  Words 
of  Latin  or  Greek  Origin — Generic  Words  and  Specific  Words — 
Abstract  Words  and  Concrete  Words — Errors  in  the  Arrange- 
ment of  Pronouns  and  their  Antecedents — Errors  in  the  Use  of 
the  Same  Pronoun  with  Different  Antecedents — Errors  in  the 
Case  of  Pronouns — Errors  in  the  Number  of  the  Verb  when 
a  Pronoun  is  the  Nominative — Errors  in  the  Omission  of  Relative 
Pronouns — Errors  in  the  Arrangement  of  Adjectives  and  Adverbs 
— Errors  in  the  Arrangement  of  Qualifying  Clauses — Errors  in 
the  Whole  Structure  of  the  Sentence — Errors  in  the  Use  of  Ellip- 
sis— Errors  in  the  Introduction  of  Irrelevant  Matter,      ....  275 

EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE 

(CHAPTERS    XV.,     XVI.,     XVII.,    AND    XVIII.    OF    PART    I  ) 

Short  Words  and  Long  Words — Words  having  Sounds  Significant  of 
their  Sense — Examples  for  Correction  in  Tautology,  in  Verbose- 
ness  ;  in  Circumlocution — Examples  of  Conciseness  for  Approval 
or  Criticism — Examples  for  Correction  in  Placing  Important 
Words  and  Parts  of  the  Sentence  ;  in  the  Wrong  Use,  or  the 
Omission  of  Connectives — The  Loose  Sentence  and  the  Period — 
Climax — Antithesis — Interrogation, 292 


PART   I 
ENGLISH    STYLE 


ENGLISH    STYLE 

CHAPTER   I 

STYLE 

I. — Definition  of  Style. 

What  is  style  ?  One  critic  answers,  "  Style  relates  to  the 
words  and  sentences  of  composition."  True:  but  so  does 
grammar  ;  so  does  syntax  ;  so  does  language.  Are  these 
the  synonyms  of  style  ?  Another  declares,  "  Style  is  that 
part  of  rhetoric  which  treats  of  the  expression  of  thought  by 
language."  But  argument  does  the  same  ;  grammar  also 
does  the  same.  Are  these  synonymous  with  style  ?  A 
third  defines,  " Style  is  the  body  of  thought;"  or,  as 
Wordsworth  puts  it,  "  Style  is  the  incarnation  of  thought." 
But  this  is  description,  not  definition.  A  fourth  says,  after 
Dean  Swift,  "Style  is  proper  words  in  proper  places." 
But  any  good  composition  is  that:  "Paradise  Lost "  is 
that.  Have  we  no  conception  of  style,  abstract  from  its 
illustrations?  A  fifth  responds,  "Style  is  character."  Buf- 
fon  has  it,  "  Style  is  the  man  himself."  But  body  and 
soul  are  that:  are  they  style?  This,  again,  is  descriptive, 
not  definitive.  Sometimes  it  is  not  true.  The  chief  thing 
which  does  not  appear  in  some  specimens  of  style  is  the 
person  of  the  writer.  Anonymous  authorship  might  be 
well-nigh  impossible  if  style  always  disclosed  the  writer's 
individuality.     Of   acknowledged   authorship,  are    we    not 


4  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

often  obliged  to  confess,  in  reading  a  book,  that  we  cannot 
become  acquainted with  the  man  who  wrote  it  ?  He  remains 
at  the  end  as  much  a  stranger  to  the  reader  as  the  reader 
is  to  him. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  framing  a  definition  of  style  is  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  term  "language."  Let  the  follow- 
ing be  tested  as  an  experiment  :  "  Style  is  the  expression  of 
the  qualities  of  thought  in  language."  The  pith  of  this  for- 
mula is,  that  it  builds  style  upon  thought,  not  upon  expres- 
sion alone  ;  yet  not  upon  thought  alone,  but  upon  expres- 
sion as  well.  This  is  probably  all  that  De  Quincey  means 
when  he  calls  style  "the  organ  of  thinking." 

II. — Two  Popular  Conceptions  of  Style. 

Two  popular  conceptions  of  style  demand  notice,  how- 
ever, between  which  it  vibrates.  One  is  that  of  sophistry, 
Sophistry— Or-  expression  used  to  mislead  :  the  other  is  that 
nament.  0f   ornament,    expression    used   for   display. 

Both  of  these  assume  that  style  is  all  outside.  It  is  cun- 
ning in  the  use  of  words.  It  is  the  dress,  the  shell,  the  husk. 
A  thought  is  a  thought  "  for  a'  that."  So  the  good  sense  of 
men  will  reason  on  any  such  theory  as  this.  One  writer 
expresses  with  amusing  artlessness  this  degrading  concep- 
tion by  soberly  defining  style  to  be  "the  art  of  arrange- 
ment applied  to  words."  Observe  it  is  an  art,  it  is  an  art 
of  arrangement  only,  it  is  an  art  applied  from  without,  it 
is  concerned  with  words  only.  Not  a  glimpse  is  visible 
here  of  thought,  of  organic  growth,  of  words  created  and 
swayed  by  things.  A  comic  song  is  a  more  respectable 
product  than  such  a  specimen  of  style.  A  "negro  melody," 
in  which  rhythm  supplants  thought,  would  fill  such  a  for- 
mula. A  Cherokee  war-song  is  vastly  more  worthy  of 
scholarly  study.  If  style  be  such,  the  study  of  it  is  con- 
temptible. 


STYLE  5 

Test  the  correctness  of  the  principle  here  advanced  by 
a  criticism  of   a    few  specimens    of   striking   composition. 
What  can  you  conceive   the  style  to  be,  as    "Odeonimmor- 
distinct  from  the  thought,  in  the  first  stan-    tality-" 
za  of  Wordsworth's  "Ode  on  Immortality?" 

"  Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting : 

The  soul  that  riseth  with  us,  our  life's  star, 
Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 

And  cometh  from  afar. 
Not  in  entire  forgetfulness, 
And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory,  do  we  come, 
From  God  who  is  our  home." 

This  we  call  an  imaginative,  a  figurative,  a  poetic  style. 
True  :  but  divest  it  of  its  imaginative  forms,  and  yet  ex- 
press all  the  weight  it  carries,  if  you  can.  It  is  impossible. 
The  very  measure  is  an  element  in  the  expression  of  the 
ideas.  The  thought  is  shorn  of  somewhat  if  you  change 
the  measure.  The  style  grows  to  the  thought,  as  the  sea- 
shell  to  its  occupant.  Poetic  rhythm  often  is  to  thought 
what  the  down  is  on  the  cheek  of  a  peach  :  without  it  the 
peach  is  something  less.  But  admit  that  you  can  transform 
poetry  to  prose,  then  what  is  the  thought  as  distinct  from 
the  prose  style  ?  Change  the  language  ;  say  something 
else  than  "trailing  clouds  of  glory  ;"  divest  the  style  of 
figure — and  have  you  not  clipped  the  thought?  The  figure 
is  the  thought,  in  part :  every  curve,  every  indentation  of  it, 
every  vibration  of  its  winged  utterance,  is  necessary  to  the 
full  and  rounded  expression  of  the  idea. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  is,  perhaps,  the  simplest  form  of 
speech  in  any  language.  It  is  taught  to  children.  It  is 
used  in   the   precative    mood,   which,   of  all  The  Lord's 

moods,    is    the    least    friendly    to    artifice.  Prayer. 

Here,  then,  if  anywhere,  mere  forms  of  speech  might  be 


6  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

supposed  to  be  interchangeable,  and  therefore  the  choice  of 
forms  of  no  moment.  But  change  the  style  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  yet  express  all  the  thought,  with  all  its  sug- 
gested and  related  ideas,  if  you  can.  You  cannot  do  it. 
Even  translation  does  affect  this  most  perfect  original  of 
the  precative  style.  It  is  not  equal  to  itself  in  all  lan- 
guages. 

III. — Qualities  of  Style   are   Qualities  of  Thought. 

The  principle,  then,  holds  good  everywhere ;  and,  the 
more  perfect  the  style,  the  more  absolute  is  the  principle. 
Style  is  thought.  Qualities  of  style  are  qual- 
ities of  thought.  Forms  of  style  are  thought 
in  form.  In  every  specimen  of  perfect  style  this  principle 
tolerates  no  question  of  its  authority.  Not  only  is  thought 
primary,  and  expression  secondary  :  thought  is  absolute,  it 
is  imperial.  Expression  as  an  independent  entity  is  words 
without  sense.  This  principle  is  the  corner-stone  of  all 
manly  criticism  in  literature.  Every  possible  excellence  in 
style  grows  out  of  it :  every  possible  defect  grows  out  of 
the  neglect  or  denial  of  it.  A  writer  of  superior  mental 
force,  starting  with  this  principle  alone,  might,  in  time, 
work  his  way,  by  the  sheer  force  of  original  thinking,  to 
supreme  perfection  in  literary  expression.  Yet,  starting 
without  it,  a  lifetime  of  criticism  and  experiment  could  not 
create  a  style  of  tolerable  quality. 

IV. — Classification   of   the    Fundamental    Qualities 

of  Style. 

An  important  preliminary  to  our  discussion  is  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  fundamental  qualities  of  style.  Four  distinct 
Four  distinct  things  lie  at  the  basis  of  these  qualities, 
things.  These  are  thought,  language,  the  speak- 

er, and  the  hearer.      Out  of  the  relations  of  these  four 
things  the  fundamental  qualities  of  a  good  style  grow. 


STYLE  7 

Out  of  the  relations  of  thought  to  language  grow  Purity 
and  Precision.  Purity  comprises  all  those  qualities  which 
grow  out  of  the  laws  of  grammar.  A  good  style  is  con- 
formed to  certain  laws  of  language  which  are  expressed  in 
grammar.  Precision  includes  all  that  is  essential  to  the  ex- 
pression of  no  more,  no  less,  and  no  other,  than  the  mean- 
ing which  the  writer  purposes  to  express. 

One  quality  fundamental  to  a  good  style  grows  out  of 
the  relation  of  thought  and  language  to  the  writer  or 
speaker.  We  term  it  Individuality.  It  is  that  quality  by 
which  the  speaker  diffuses  himself  through  his  style  ;  not 
merely  that  by  which  he  impresses  himself  upon  his  style, 
but  that  by  which  he  lives  and  breathes  within  and  through- 
out its  every  variation  and  sinuosity  of  expression.  It  is 
that  which  Buffon  had  in  mind  when  he  said,  "  Style  is  the 
man  himself,"  and  which  others  have  meant  by  saying  that 
"style  is  character." 

Out  of  the  relations  of  thought  and  language,  and  the 
speaker  to  the  hearer,  grow  three  qualities  of  a  good  style. 
They  are  perspicuity,  energy,  and  elegance.  Perspicuity 
expresses  the  clearness  of  the  thought  to  the  perceptions  of 
the  hearer.  Energy  expresses  the  force  of  the  thought  to 
the  sensibilities  of  the  hearer.  Elegance  expresses  the 
beauty  of  the  thought  to  the  taste  of  the  hearer.  All  these 
are  relative  to  the  culture  of  the  hearer. 

One  quality  remains.  It  results  from  a  fit  selection  and 
a  due  proportioning  of  the  qualities  already  named.  It  is 
Naturalness  of  style.  It  is  that  quality  by  which  thought, 
as  expressed  in  language,  appeals  to  the  sense  of  fitness  in 
the  hearer. 

These  seven  qualities,  and  only  these,  are  fundamental  in 
the  criticism  of  style.  All  other  qualities  naturally  fall  into 
the  rank  of  tributaries  to  these.  These  will  therefore  con- 
stitute the  themes  in  the  ensuing  chapters,  but  with  one  ex- 
ception ;  viz.,  that  of  Individuality  of  style. 


8  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

At  the  first  view  it  may  seem  unreasonable  to  make  this 

omission  ;  but  it  is  made  deliberately,  after  vain  attempts  to 

discuss  this  quality  in  a  manner  fitted  to  the 

Whv  mdividu-  . 

ality  is  not  to  be  practical  uses  of  a  public  speaker.  As  a  sub- 
ject of  theoretic  criticism  only,  it  can  be  dis- 
cussed, of  course,  ad libitum  j  but,  as  a  subject  of  practical 
use,  it  is  not  a  proper  theme  of  critical  research.  The 
more  sedulously  a  speaker  studies  and  strives  to  gain  it, 
the  less  will  he  have  of  it.  He  must  be  a  man  of  rare 
genius  if  he  does  not  fall  into  servitude  to  some  counter- 
feit of  it. 

When  a  man  sits  for  his  portrait,  the  surest  way  of 
securing  upon  the  canvas  another  man,  not  him,  is  that  he 
A  man  and  his  should  set  himself  to  work  profoundly  think- 
portrait.  jng  0f  himself — how  he  looks  :  are  his  eyes 

upon  the  right  point  of  the  compass  ?  is  his  mouth  closed 
with  the  proper  degree  of  compression  ?  are  wrinkles  visi- 
ble in  his  forehead  ?  is  the  head  poised  at  the  right  angle  ? 
do  the  arms  hang  limp,  or  stiff  ?  and  so  on.  The  more  he 
thinks  thus  of  himself,  the  less  will  he  be  himself  on  the 
canvas.  He  can  defeat  the  genius  of  a  prince  of  artists, 
solely  by  the  conscious  intentness  of  his  own  mind  upon  his 
body.  Many  of  the  most  perfect  likenesses  are  taken  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  subjects  of  them.  Portraits  of 
artists  painted  by  themselves  are  never  their  best  work. 
The  gallery  of  such  portraits  in  Florence  is  justly  criticised 
by  Hawthorne  as  abounding  with  autobiographic  peculi- 
arities   which    in    perfect    likenesses    would 

Hawthorne.  .  , 

be  invisible.  To  be  himself  in  anything  a 
rnan_must  not  think  of  being  it.  An  English  officer  said  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  that  he  did  not  write  as  well  after 
The  Duke  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo  as  before  ;  because 
Wellington.  ne  knew  that  whatever  he  wrote  would  be 

printed    and    he    wrote    thinking    how    it    would    look    in 
print. 


STYLE  9 

The  principle  illustrated  in  these  examples  governs  the 
art  of  acquiring  individuality  of  style.  A  speaker  cannot 
Wh     .    be  impress  his   own  individuality  upon   his  dis- 

studied and  when    course  consciously.     He    cannot,  therefore, 

not  to  be  studied.  . 

study  this  quality  successfully  for  any  practi- 
cal uses.  As  a  theme  of  rhetorical  science,  with  frequent 
incursions  into  psychological  science,  it  can  be  studied ; 
but,  as  a  theme  of  practical  criticism  for  uses  in  public 
speech,  the  less  a  man  knows  of  it  the  better.  It  is  a  qual- 
ity which  must  come  unbidden,  as  happiness  does  to  the 
unconscious  recipient :  it  cannot  be  produced  by  force  of 
will,  nor  acquired  by  studious  discipline. 

ANALYSIS. 

STYLE. 

I.  Definition  of  Style. 

i.  Definition  by  Wordsworth,  Swift,  Buff  on  and  others. 
2.  Definition  by  the  Author. 

II.  Two  Popular  Conceptions  of  Style. 

i.  Sophistry. 
2.  Ornament. 

(a)  "  Ode  on  Immortality." 

(b)  The  Lord's  Prayer. 

III.  Qualities  of  Style  are  Qualities  of  Thought. 

IV.  Classification  of  the  Fundamental  Qualities  of  Style. 

i.  Relations  of  Thought  and  Language — Purity  and  Precision. 

2.  Relations  of  Thought  and  Language  to  the  Writer  or  Speaker 

— Individuality. 

3.  Relations  of   Thought  and   Language,  and  the  Speaker  to  the 

Hearer — Perspicuity,  Energy,  Elegance. 

4.  Due  proportion  of   Purity,  Precision,  Individuality,  Perspicuity, 

Energy  and  Elegance — Naturalness. 

5.  Reasons  why  Individuality  should  not  be  studied  as  a  quality 

of  style. 


CHAPTER   II 

PURITY   OF   ENGLISH   STYLE 

I. — Definition  of  Purity. 

Purity  may  be  more  specifically  defined  by  several  mem- 
oranda, of  which  the  first  is,  that  it  relates  to  three  things ; 
viz.,  the  form  of  words,  the  construction  of  words  in  con- 
tinuous discourse,  and  the  meaning  of  words  and  phrases. 
The  second,  therefore,  is  that  it  requires  three  things  ;  viz., 
that  the  words  used  should  belong  to  the  English  lano-uasre. 
that  the  construction  be  accordant  with  English  idiom,  and 
that  words  and  phrases  be  employed  in  the  senses  recog- 
nized by  good  English  authority.  The  third  is,  that  there- 
fore the  violations  of  English  purity  are  offences  against  the 
three  departments  of  scientific  grammar.  In  the  form  of  a 
word,  a  violation  of  purity  is  an  offence  against  the  laws  of 
English  etymology  and  their  modifications  by  usage.  In 
the  construction  of  sentences,  a  violation  of  purity  is  an 
offence  against  English  syntax.  In  the  meaning  of  words 
or  phrases,  a  violation  of  purity  is  an  offence  against  the 
authority  of  lexicography.  The  fourth  is,  that  the  names 
given  to  the  chief  violations  of  purity  are  three.  In  the 
forms  of  words,  a  violation  of  purity  is  a  barbarism  ;  in  the 
constructions,  a  violation  of  purity  is  a  solecism  ;  in  the 
meanings  of  words  and  phrases,  a  violation  of  purity  is  an 
impropriety. 

II. — Standard  of  English  Purity  of  Style. 

A  further  topic  fundamental  to  the  subject  is  the  in- 
quiry, What   is   the  standard  of   English   purity   of   style  ? 


PURITY  OF  ENGLISH  STYLE  II 

The  history  of  this  question  in  the  rhetorical  literature  of 
the  language  discloses  but  two  opinions  which  deserve  de- 
bate. They  may  be  represented  by  the  formula,  "  Usage 
versus  Laws  of  Language."  One  opinion  gives  the  ascen- 
dency to  usage,  the  other  to  the  laws  of  the  language,  as 
the  ultimate  authority.  One  class  of  writers  adopts  an  ex- 
treme utilitarianism,  saying,  "  If  a  man  makes  himself  un- 
derstood by  those  who  use  the  language,  why  should  he 
care  for  a  pure  style  beyond  that  ?  "  This  is  the  one  ex- 
treme. At  the  opposite  extreme  are  the  "  Purists."  They 
hold  in  theory,  that,  be  the  usage  of  a  people       „, 

•"  e       ,  Two  extremes. 

what  it  may,  the  laws  of  a  language  must  be 
authoritative  to  scholars.  Purists  in  the  use  of  language 
have  existed  in  every  country  which  has  had  a  literature. 
In  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Italian  scholars 
would  employ  none  but  the  purest  Augustan  Latin.  Eras- 
mus contended  that  the  true  rule  for  a  scholarly  author 
was  to  write  as  Cicero  would  have  written  if        _ 

trasmus. 

he'  had  lived  to  modern  times.  He  rejected 
as  unscholarly  all  the  languages  of  modern  Europe.  It  was 
one  of  his  chief  objections  to  the  Reformation,  that  it  em- 
ployed the  language  of  the  German  people.  The  principles 
of  Luther  he  approved,  but  he  could  not  admit  that  Chris- 
tianity could  ever  outgrow  the  Latin  tongue.  His  life  was 
a  sacrifice  of  the  Christian  religion  to  the  conservatism  of 
literature.  All  the  modern  languages  of  Europe  had  a 
similar  conflict  with  the  ancient  classic  Latin.  The  action 
was,  "  The  Aristocracy  of  Learning  versus  the  Democracy  of 
Usage."  Usage  triumphed,  and  forced  new  languages  into 
being.     The  conclusion  was  foregone  from  the  beginning. 

Two  principles,  which  practically  qualify  and  limit  each  other, 
seem  to  indicate  the  true  theory  on  the  subject.  One  is,  that  the 
laws  of  a  language  are  the  proximate  stand-     ' 

&      6  .       ,  ,  The  true  theory. 

ard  of  purity.     A  language  is  the  production 

of   the    national    mind.     In    it  the  national   mind   has   ex- 


12  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

pressed  its  unconscious  will.  Like  every  other  national 
growth,  it  is  a  thing  of  law.  If  exposed  to  the  inroad  of 
alien  or  mongrel  words,  or  barbarous  idioms,  the  interests 
of  culture  require,  that,  if  possible,  it  should  be  protected 
by  appeal  to  its  inherent  laws.  A  violation  of  those  laws 
is  to  scholarly  taste  an  evil.  It  is  an  excrescence  on  the 
Lano-uao-e  and  national  tongue,  to  be  excluded  if  possible  ; 
its  laws.  t0  ke  checked  in  its  growth  if  it  cannot  be 

excluded  ;  to  be  often  only  tolerated  if  it  cannot  be 
checked,  till  the  national  usage  shall  possibly  right  itself, 
and  go  back  to  the  purer  forms  of  speech. 

But  another  principle  qualifies  and  controls  this  :  it  is, 
that  usage  must  be  the  ultimate  standard  of  purity.     Rec- 
ognizing     the    conservative      authority     of 

Why  usage  is  . 

the  ultimate  scholarly   taste  as  expressed  in  the  laws  of 

standar  .  ^Q  language,   we  must  submit  to  usage  if 

that  insists  on  change.  This  principle  rests  on  several 
reasons.  One  is  that  of  simple  necessity.  A  language  is  a 
nation's  property.  The  many  make  it,  not  the  few.  If  the 
many  choose  to  change  it,  enlarge  it,  bring  importations 
into  it,  even  load  it  with  absolutely  new  creations,  how 
shall  the  few  who  object  on  grounds  of  scholarly  taste  help 
themselves  ?  The  nation  retains  the  most  absolute  of  all 
rights — the  rights  of  creatorship.  It  is  sufficient  to  say, 
that  scholarly  taste  must  yield  because  it  must.  Usage 
may  be  tyrannical.  It  may  create  words  by  sheer  whim. 
It  may  indulge  a  taste  for  vulgarisms.  This  makes  no  dif- 
ference. If  scholarly  authority  cannot  make  itself  felt  as  a 
conservative  influence,  it  has  no  power  to  act  as  a  conser- 
vative force. 

An  amateur  in  philological  studies  once  found,  as  he  be- 
lieved, a  Norman  origin  for  the  word  "  quiz."     But  Smart, 
the  author  of  an  English  dictionary,  gives  to 

Origin  of  quiz.  .  .    . 

the  word  a  more  simple  and  probable  origin. 
He   says,  that   the    manager  of  a  theatre   in   Dublin   once 


PURITY  OF  ENGLISH  STYLE  I  3 

passed  an  evening  with  certain  amateurs  in  literature  ;  and 
he  staked  a  sum  of  money  on  the  proposal  that  he  would 
create  a  word  which  should  belong  to  no  language  on  the 
globe,  and  should  be  absolutely  void  of  sense,  yet  it  should 
become  the  subject  of  the  common  talk  of  the  town  in 
twenty-four  hours.  The  wager  was  accepted.  He  then 
sent  his  servants  through  the  most  densely  peopled  streets 
of  the  city,  with  directions  to  chalk  in  large  capitals  the 
letters  QUIZ  on  each  alternate  door  and  shop-window. 
The  next  day  was  Sunday.  Stores  were  closed,  and  the 
throng  in  the  streets  had  leisure  to  read  the  enigmatical 
letters.  Everyone  who  saw  it  repeated  it  to  his  neighbor  ; 
and  his  neighbor  responded,  "  What  does  '  quiz  '  mean  ?  "  It 
had  no  meaning.  No  language  owned  it.  Scholarly  taste 
scouted  it.  Yet  everybody  laughed  at  it,  and  that  gave  it 
a  meaning.  From  that  day  to  this,  scholarship  has  been 
compelled  to  recognize  the  word,  and  to  use  it  as  good 
sound  English.  In  such  a  case  usage  declares  its  will,  and 
says  to  scholarship,  "What  will  you  do  about  it  ?" 

Further  :  the  principle  before  us  rests  on  its  usefulness. 
Languages  need  improvement.  The  most  finished  languages 
admit  of  improvement.  The  Greek,  the  nearest  perfect  of 
any  medium  of  human  speech  the  world  has  known,  never 
saw  the  time  when  it  could  not  have  been  improved.  Sixty 
years  ago  the  Prussian  Government  published  a  dictionary, 
to  be  used  in  the  public  service,  restricted  to  A  prussjan  die- 
words  of  strictly  national  origin  and  then  in  Nonary. 
use.  It  was  an  attempt,  by  authority  of  law,  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  new  and  foreign  words.  It  was,  by  the 
nature  of  the  case,  doomed  to  failure.  A  national  mind 
grows  ;  it  accumulates  a  history  ;  new  ideas  are  born  ;  new 
institutions  are  created  ;  new  wants  arise.  Language, 
therefore,  must  grow,  to  express  these  novel  facts.  We 
must  have  new  words,  new  idioms,  new  constructions,  new 
combinations,  and  new  senses  of  old  words. 


14  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Specially  is  this  true  of  every  new  epoch  in  a  nation's 

history.     Such  events  as  the  rise  of  Greek  art,  the  growth  of 

the  Roman  Empire,  the  irruption  of  the  north- 

The  demand  ' 

of  every  new  ern  tribes  into  Italy,  the  rise  of  the  Papacy, 

epoch-  the  Reformation,  the  French  Revolution,  the 

downfall  of  American  slavery,  either  create,  or  are  created 
by,  new  ideas,  which  exceed  the  capacities  of  language  as 
before  organized  and  fixed.  Moreover,  one  national  mind 
originates  ideas  not  original  to  another.  One  language 
also  gives  birth  to  words  more  felicitously  expressive  than 
their  synonyms  in  another  of  ideas  common  to  both.  One, 
therefore,  must  borrow  from  another  :  there  is  no  shame  in 
that.  Our  English  word  "  humbug,"  for  instance,  is  an 
English  original.  Good  authority  states,  that  it  cannot  be 
reproduced  in  one  word  in  any  other  living  tongue.  Yet  it 
is  too  valuable  a  word  to  be  excluded  from  any  language. 

In  the  French  language  a  dictionary  is  extant  containing 
only  the  words  born  into  the  language  since  the  Revolution 
a  French  die-  of  1 789.  Among  the  old  books  in  the  Brit- 
tionary.  j^  Museum  is  found  a  dictionary,  of  which 

this  is  the  title,  "  A  Dictionary  of  all  words  born  since 
1640,  in  speeches,  prayers,  and  sermons  :  as  well  those  that 
An  English  die-  signify  something  as  nothing."  These  dic- 
tionary, tionaries  were  published  after  periods  of  pop- 
ular ferment.  The  passions  of  nations  had  been  raging. 
They  had  forced  national  growth,  and  therefore  the  expan- 
sion of  languages.  Such  epochs  are  sure  to  create  words 
which  "  signify  something." 

The  usefulness  of  a  language,  then,  necessitates  a  schol- 
arly obedience  to  usage  as  the  authority  of  last  resort.  We 
not  only  must  obey  because  we  must,  we  must  obey  in  or- 
der that  our  language  may  conform  to  the  national  wants, 
and  be  an  honest  expression  of  the  national  mind. 


PURITY  OF  ENGLISH  STYLE  I  5 


III. — Usage  as   Influenced  by    the   Laws   of   a   Lan- 
guage. 

The  foregoing  views  suggest  the  inquiry,  To  what  re- 
strictions is  usage  practically  subjected  by  the  conservative 
influence  of  the  laws  of  a  language  ? 

In  the  first  place,  that  which  we  recognize  as  our  ultimate 
standard  of  purity  should  be  the  present  usage  ;  not  the 
usage  of  a  past  age,  not  the  possible  usage  of 

s  v  &    '  v  &  Present  usage. 

a  future  age.     The  laws  of  a  language  protect 
it,  not  as  it  was,  not  as  it  may  or  will  or  ought  to  be,  but  as 
it  is.     Conservative  presumption   always  favors   the   thing 
that  is.     The  great  majority  of  things  in  human  life  prove 
their  right  to  be  by  being. 

Again  :  that  which  we  accept  as  authority  should  be  the 
national  usage.  The  laws  of  a  language  protect  it  from  the 
errors  of  foreign  usage  ;  that  is,  the  usage  of 

.     .  .         National  usage. 

those  to  whom  it  is  not  vernacular.  M.  Gui- 
zot,  for  instance,  wrote  and  spoke  the  English  language 
with  almost  the  accuracy  of  an  English  scholar,  but  he 
was  not  an  authority  on  a  question  of  English  purity.  The 
authoritative  use  is  the  vernacular  use.  The  laws  of  a  lan- 
guage also  prescribe  the  national  usage  as  distinct  from  any 
sectional  use.  The  English-speaking  world  abounds  in 
provincialisms.  Scotticisms,  Americanisms,  Irish  idioms, 
Australian  patois,  the  Chinook  dialect  of  Oregon,  are  no 
part  of  the  English  language,  because  they  have  not  the 
stamp  of  universal  use.  The  laws  of  a  language  further 
support  the  national  usage  as  distinct  from  clannish  use. 
Why  is  not  the  lingo  of  the  forecastle  pure  English  ?  Win- 
not  the  jargon  of  the  thieves  of  London  ?  Why  not  the 
cant  of  religious  enthusiasts  ?  Why  not  the  slang  of  Ameri- 
can colleges  ?  Because  these  are  clannish.  No  national 
authority  supports  them. 


1 6  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

The  third  restriction  which  the  laws  of  a  language  lay 
upon  the  usage  to  which  we  appeal  for  our  authority  is,  that 
Reputable  lt  s^la11    be  rePutable    usage.     This   principle 

usage.  grows  out  of  the  obvious  and  necessary  dif- 

ference between  the  colloquial  use  of  the  language  by  all 
classes,  and  the  use  of  it  in  continuous  discourse  by  public 
speakers  and  writers.  Every  man  who  uses  the  language 
much  in  both  these  modes  adopts  inevitably  different  styles. 
Words  and  constructions  which  conversation  tolerates,  per- 
haps requires,  are  often  unfit  for  discourse,  either  written 
or  oral.  Not  only  the  book,  but  the  speech,  demands 
elements  of  diction  for  which  conversation  provides  no' 
range. 

A  critic  in  Blackwood's  Magazine  says,  that  "  at  the  present 

day,  in  the  English  portions  of  the  world — European,  Asiatic, 

Australian,  African,  and  American — all  edu- 

Three  different  7 

kinds  of  Eng-  cated  people  use  three  different  kinds  of  Eng- 
lish :  old  Saxon  English  when  they  go  to 
church,  or  read  good  poetry  ;  vernacular  or  colloquial  English, 
not  altogether  free  from  slang  and  vulgarity,  when  they 
talk  to  one  another  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life  ;  and 
literary  English  when  they  make  speeches  or  sermons,  and 
write  or  read  articles  in  reviews  or  books.  This  threefold 
division  of  the  language  has  always  existed  ;  though  the 
great  bulk  of  the  people,  up  to  recent  times,  may  have  only 
been  familiar  with  the  first,  with  its  limited  range  of  nouns, 
verbs, and  adjectives."  A  scholar  of  thoroughly  good  taste 
must  demur  to  this  analysis  of  existing  usage  in  some  re- 
spects ,  yet  a  foundation  for  some  similar  distinction  exists 
in  the  necessities  of  the  case.  It  is  obvious,  that  one  who 
writes  or  speaks  much  in  public  must  have  a  standard  of 
pure  English  other  than  the  usage  of  numerical  majorities. 
Majorities  use  the  language  only  colloquially.  We  are 
driven  to  look  above  them  for  a  standard  of  classic  purity. 
We  find  it  in  the  usage  of  reputable  authors. 


PURITY   OF  ENGLISH  STYLE  \J 

What  do  we  mean  by  reputable  authors  ?  We  mean  those 
authors,  who,  by  the  common  consent,  have  been  success- 
ful in  the  use  of  their  language.  Reputation  who  are  reputa- 
proves  success;  not  notoriety,  but  good  re-  Me  authors? 
pute.  Literary  fame  entitles  an  author  to  rank  as  a  standard 
in  literary  style,  on  the  same  principle  on  which  fame  at  the 
bar  and  on  the  bench  renders  a  lawyer  an  authority  to  his 
profession.  Pope,  Dryden,  Macaulay,  Everett,  Irving,  are 
standards  of  pure  English,  as  Blackstone,  Brougham,  Mar- 
shall, Story,  are  standards  in  jurisprudence.  By  unwritten 
common  law,  such  names  have  the  voice  of  the  nations  be- 
hind them,  and  speaking  in  them.  Scholarly  taste  obliges 
writers  and  public  speakers  to  acknowledge  this  standard. 
It  is  unscholarly  not  to  do  so.  Even  the  common,  unedu- 
cated mind  has  a  dim  sense  of  this  claim  of  pure  English 
on  an  educated  speaker.  The  common  people  like  to  be 
addressed  in  sound  old  English  which  has  the  _      _    ,. , 

°  .  .  Pure  English  and 

centuries  behind  it.  They  desire  it  to  be  the  common  peo- 
plain,  direct,  strong,  racy,  but  they  never  as 
a  body  desire  it  to  be  low.  Marines  do  not  like  to  be 
preached  to  in  the  dialect  of  the  forecastle.  When  one 
preacher  of  distinction  in  our  metropolis  endeavored  to 
preach  thus  on  a  man-of-war  in  Boston  harbor,  his  hearers 
said,  when  his  back  was  turned,  that  "  there  were  two 
things  which  he  did  not  understand — religion  and  naviga- 
tion." A  rabble  in  the  street  will  often  hoot  if  they  are 
addressed  in  bad  grammar. 

Patrick  Henry  thought  to  win  the  favor  of  the  backwoods- 
men of  Virginia  by  imitating  their  colloquial  dialect,  of 
which    his    biographer    gives   the    following 

,  r  ,  .  .  n  i.  11  .-,  Patrick  Henry. 

specimen  from  one  of  his  speeches  :  "All  the 
larnin  upon  the  yairth  are  not  to  be  compared  with  naiteral 
pairts."     But  his  hearers,  backwoodsmen  though  they  were, 
knew  better  than  that ;    and  they  knew  that  a  statesman 
of  the  Old  Dominion  ought  to  speak  good  English.     They 


1 8  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

were  his  severest  critics.  The  common  people  know  good 
English  when  they  hear  it  ;  they  understand  it ;  men  crave 
it  who  never  use  it.  In  their  unconscious  criticism  of  a 
speaker,  his  right  to  their  hearing  depends  on  his  ability  to 
say  something  worth  their  hearing  ;  and  one  of  the  first  evi- 
dences they  look  for  of  that  ability  is  that  he  speaks  better 
English  than  they  do. 

ANALYSIS. 

PURITY   OF   STYLE. 

I.  Definition. 

i.  Purity  relates  to  three  things. 

2.  Purity  requires  three  things. 

3.  Purity  violated  in  three  ways. 

4.  Barbarism,  Solecism,  Impropriety, 

II.  Standard  of  Purity. 

1.  Two  extremes. 

2.  Two  principles  indicate  the  true  theory. 

A.  Language  as  a  national  growth  is  a  thing  of  law. 

B.  Language  a  nation's  property,  and  thus  usage  is  the  ultimate 

standard, 
(a)  "  Quiz." 

C.  Languages  need  improvement. 

(a)  A  Prussian  dictionary. 

(b)  A  French  dictionary. 

(c)  An  English  dictionary. 

III.  Usage  as  Influenced  by  the  Laws  of  a  Language. 

1.  Present  usage. 

2.  National  usage. 

3.  Reputable  usage. 

(a)  Three  different  kinds  of  English. 

(b)  Reputable  authors. 

(c)  Kind  of  English  desired  by  the  common  people. 


CHAPTER  III 

VIOLATIONS   OF   PURITY   OF   STYLE 

The  consideration  of  the  standards  of  English  purity  in 
the  last  chapter  leads  us  to  observe,  as  the  fourth  gener- 
al topic  of  discussion,  the  most  important  violations  of  a 
pure  style.  What  are  they  ?  We  have  observed  their  well- 
known  names  in  defining  this  quality  ;  viz.,  the  barbarism, 
the  solecism,  and  the  impropriety. 

I. — Obsolete  Words. 

We  note  them  now  more  specifically  by  observing  that 
purity  is  violated  by  the  use  of  the  obsolete  in  language ; 
that  is,  by  obsolete  words,  or  constructions,  or  significa- 
tions. Present  usage  being  the  standard,  it  is  not  suf- 
ficient, to  authorize  the  use  of  a  word,  a  construction,  or  a 
signification,  that  it  has  once  been  pure  English.  Old 
words  are  often  like  old  ploughs.  They  must  give  way 
if  the  national  civilization  has  outlived  them.  Why  may 
we  not  now  employ  the  words  "peradventure,"  "for- 
sooth," "yclept,"  "whilom"?  In  Latimer's  day  it  was 
no  violation  of  good  taste  to  use  the  word 

Alonely. 

alonely.    These  words  are  all  barbarisms  now, 
because   they    are   obsolete.     Dr.  Barrow  says,  "  It  is  our 
duty  to  testify  an  affectionate  resentment  to  God."     "  Re- 
sentment "    once    signified    the    act    of    ac- 
knowledging a  favor,    Jeremy    Taylor  says, 
"  Humility  is  a  duty  in  great  ones  no  less  than  in  idiots." 
"  Idiot,"    in   his   day,  meant   a    private    man 
only,  retaining  the  etymological  sense  of  the 
original   Greek.     A  writer  of  the   same  period  speaks   of 


20  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  TRACTICE 

Lord  Bacon  as  a  man  of  "very  wise   prejudices."     "  Preju- 
dice "  then  meant  only  a  prejudgment.     "  Humility  "  and 
"pusillanimity"  were  once  synonyms.     The 
history    of  these   words  illustrates  the  con- 
flict of  Christianity  with  Paganism  to  make  the  lowly  virtues 
respectable.    The  word  "  painful  "  has  a  similar  history.     It 
once  signified,  not  "producing  pain,"  but  "  taking  pains.' 
Richard  Baxter  was  called  by  his  contempo- 

Painful.  .  ,         ,.      „, 

raries  "a  most  painful  preacher.  Wren, 
once  Bishop  of  Ely,  was  charged  by  the  Puritans  with 
"  having  banished  fifty  godly,  learned,  and  painful  preach- 
ers "  from  the  kingdom. 

Several  inquiries  deserve  answer  respecting  the  obsolete 
in  style.     When  does  a  word  become  obsolete  ?     "  Whereof 

the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  con- 
Time  when  ,,..,.  . 
words  become        trary     is  the  hint  given  by  Dr.  Campbell  and 

obsolete.  others  ;  that    is,  if    a    word   has  not  been  in 

current  use  within  the  memory  of  any  man  living,  it  must 
be  considered  as  lost  to  the  living  tongue.  This  appears  rea- 
sonable :  scholarly  taste  has  suggested  no  better  principle. 
Should  obsolescent  words  be  retained  ?  Critics  agree,  as 
a  general  thing,  in  the  negative.  Words  usually  die,  as  men 
Why  obsolescent    do>  because    of    some   infirmity.     They    are 

words  should  not  ill  formed,  or  difficult  of  enunciation,  or  re- 
be  retained.  .  . 

dundant,  or   inferior  to  their  synonyms  ;  or 

that  which  called  them  into  being  has  ceased  to  be.  For  one 
reason,  or  more,  the  words  are  not  needed  ;  and  the  national 
mind  parts  with  them  unconsciously.  None  but  a  decadent 
people  will  commonly  permit  a  valuable  word  to  die. 

But  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  exist,  in  which  schol- 
arly effort  is  needed  to  keep  a  good  word  alive.     When  the 

Test  given  bv  ^oss  °^  a  word  would  cause  an  obvious  dete- 
james  Russell       rioration  of  a  language,  then  culture  should 

Lowell.  .     n  s      &   ' 

exert  its  influence  to  conserve  the  word. 
James  Russell   Lowell  says  that  "  an  archaism  is  permissible 


VIOLATIONS   OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE  21 

when  a  word  has  been  supplanted  by  one  less  apt,  and  yet  has  not 
become  unintelligible.  An  obsolescent  word  may  be  neces- 
sary to  the  precision  of  a  language.  The  word  "concept" 
is  an  old  English  word,  signifying,  not  the  act  of  conceiving, 
but  the  idea  conceived.  It  passed  out  of  use  for  a  time  ; 
and  "  conception  "  took  its  place,  and  is  now  used  to  signify 
both  the  act  and  the  thing.  But  Sir  William  Hamilton  re- 
vived the  more  ancient  word,  because  it  adds  to  the  philo- 
sophical precision  of  the  language  to  have  two  words  to  ex- 
press the  two  ideas. 

The  obsolescence  of  a  word  may  indicate  a  moral  decay 
in  the  language,  and  may  for  that  reason  be  wisely  arrested. 
The  Italians  have  permitted  the  word  virtu- 

.  Verbal    obsoles- 

oso  to  lose  its  old  element  of  moral  virtue,  cence  and  moral 
and  to  decline  to  the  expression  of  a  "  con-  ecay' 
noisseur  of  art."  The  French  have  suffered  the  word 
honnetete  to  lose  its  original  sense  of  "honesty,"  and  to 
descend  to  the  idea  of  "  civility."  In  both  these  cases  the 
languages  would  have  been  the  richer  if  the  old  significa- 
tions had  been  retained.  Milton  saved  some  words  to  our 
language,  which  in  his  day  were  obsolescent,  but  which  he 
thought  ought  not  to  die.  Missionaries  in  heathen  lands 
are  sometimes  able  to  secure  a  new  medium  of  appeal  to 
the  heathen  mind  by  resuscitating  obsolescent  words 
which  the  nations  are  losing  through  the  decay  of  their 
moral  sensibilities,  and  therefore  of  moral  ideas. 

What  principle  should  govern  the  use  of  obsolete  words 
in  poetry  ?  The  general  taste  of  scholars  makes  an  excep- 
tion to  the  rule  in  behalf  of  obsolete  words  obsolete  words 
in  poetic  style.  The  necessities  of  rhythm  ln  PoetI7- 
often  require  this.  A  reason  for  it  exists  also  in  the  nature 
of  poetry.  The  distance  of  an  object  quickens  the  play  of  the 
imagination  toward  it.  An  obsolete  phraseology,  therefore, 
is  in  keeping  with  the  design  of  poetic  expression.  The 
style  of  Spenser  in  "  The  Faerie    Queene  "  is   designedly 


22  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

archaic.  He  multiplied  obsolete  and  obsolescent  words 
purposely,  in  order  to  throw  back  the  style  into  a  bygone 
age.  Guizot  thinks  that  Shakespeare,  in  "  King  Lear," 
intentionally  violated  grammatical  construction  in  order 
to  locate  the  drama  in  a  period  in  which  the  language 
was  in  its  infancy.  Dramatic  congruity  admits  of  this 
license. 

What  principle  should  guide  us  in  the  use  of  obsolete 
words  in  prayer!  Prayer  in  this  respect  partakes  of  the 
Obsolete  words  nature  of  poetry.  German  critics  have  sug- 
m  prayer.  gested,  that,  rhetorically  considered,  prayer 

is  poetry.  A  reverent  diction,  like  the  poetic,  invites  a 
certain  infusion  of  the  antique  element.  Therefore  we 
retain  the  obsolete  termination  of  verbs  in  "  th."  We  say 
"maketh,"  "believeth,"  "saith."  This  is  not  pure  Eng- 
lish in  oratorical  style,  but  it  is  such  in  the  precative 
style. 

It  is,  however,  different  when  a  writer  in  ordinary  dis- 
course seeks  for  an  obsolete  style  for  effect.  Even  when 
^  this  is  prompted  by  a  struggle  to  clothe  a 

Obsolete  words  ,  .  ,  .        . 

in  ordinary  dis-  thought  with  power,  it  is  objectionable. 
More  power  is  lost  than  gained  by  the  ex- 
pedient. Hearers  feel  it  to  be  an  expedient,  and  the  effect 
is  to  attract  attention  to  the  style  by  distracting  attention 
from  the  thought.  One  often  feels  this  defect  in  reading 
certain  productions  of  De  Quincey.  It  is  true  that  force 
is  sometimes  gained  by  it,  but  it  is  an  artificial  force. 
Good  taste  approves  only  the  force  gained  by  the  purest 
and  simplest  English. 

II. — New  Words. 

Passing,  now,  from  the  consideration  of  an  obsolete  style, 
we  observe  another  class  of  violations  of  purity,  in  the  coin- 
ing of  novelties.     Present  usage  being  our  standard,  novel 


VIOLATIONS   OF  PURITY   OF  STYLE  2$ 

words,  novel  constructions,  novel  significations,  do  not  be- 
long to  the  language.  The  objection  is  as  valid  against  a 
possibly  future  use  as  against  one  which  time  has  ejected. 
A  scholarly  regard  for  English  purity  will  act  conservatively 
against  new  coinage. 

Professor  Park  of  Andover  has  observed  that  barbarisms 
from  new  coinage  occur  chiefly  in  three  ways — by  the  crea- 
tion of  new  words,  by  the  enlargement  or  contraction  of 
old  words,  and  by  the  compounding  of  old  words.  In  an 
early  edition  of  one  of  our  two  standard  dictionaries,  the 
following  words  are  found  :  "  unwappered,"  "  intersom- 
nious,"  "circumbendibus,"  " jiggumbob,"  "solumnigate," 
''grammatication,"  "  somniative,"  "scrimption,"  "soliva* 
gous,"  "  slubberdegullion,"  "transmogrification." 

i.  These  are  absolute  creations  by  somebody.  They  are 
not  English  :  they  never  have  been.  By  what  authority  do 
they  find  a  place  in  a  dictionary  of  a  civilized  Absolute  crea- 
tongue  ?  Their  only  becoming  place  is  in  tlons- 
that  ancient  lexicon  in  the  British  Museum  to  which  allu- 
sion has  been  made,  as  compiled,  in  part,  of  "  words  which 
signify  nothing." 

2.  Contractions  of  old  words  appear  chiefly  in  the  form  of 
vulgarisms.  Contraction  in  speech  is  a  most  singular  de- 
velopment of  the  natural  inertia  of  the  human  contractions  of 
mind.     Even  the   tongue,  the    most   nimble    oldwords. 

of  human  organs,  will  utter  only  that  which  it  must  utter. 
A  syllable,  a  letter,  an  accent,  which  it  can  slur,  it  will 
slur.  The  contraction  "ain't"  for  "  isn't  "  is  a  vulgarism 
which  ought  not  to  need  criticism.  The  safe  rule  re- 
specting contractions  is  never  to  use  them  in  public 
speech.  This  is  the  instinct  of  a  perfect  taste.  It  is  said 
that  Edward  Everett  never  employed  them,  even  in  episto- 
lary style.  Some  critics  do  not  consider  it  fastidious  to 
avoid  them  in  colloquial  usage. 

3.  Expansions  of  old  words  are  more  frequent  than  con- 


24  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

tractions.  "Preventative"  and  " intensitive "  are  exam- 
ples; the  pure  forms  are  "preventive"  and  "intensive." 
Expansions  of  Unauthorized  prefixes  and  suffixes  create  a 
old  words.  multitude  of  barbarisms.     In  a  standard  dic- 

tionary are  found  the  following  :  "  untriumph,"  "  untrussed," 
"  unuplifted,"  "  unwormwooded,"  "  unruinable,"  "unvulgar- 
ized,"  "  unquarrelable,"  "  unquaker,"  "  unrenavigable,"  all 
coined,  chiefly,  by  the  unauthorized  prefix  "  un  "  to  words, 
which,  either  in  part  or  in  whole,  are  in  good  use.  Here  are 
found  also,  "  cockneyfy,"  "  dandyize,"  "dandyling,"  "  inco- 
herentific,"  "  imperiwigged,"  "  fiddlefaddler,"  "  sapientize," 
"  wegotism,"  "  weism,"  "  perfectionation,"  "  maximize," 
"pishpash,"  "  fiddle-de-dee,"  most  of  which  are  coined  by 
unwarrantable  additions  to  the  end  of  good  words.  Such 
dictionaries  are  emphatically  "  dictionaries  unabridged." 

4.  New  words  are  sometimes  created  faeetiously.  De  Quin- 
cey  speaks  of  Suetonius,  the  story-teller  of  antiquity,  as  a 
New  words  ere-  "  curious  collector  of  anecdotage."  Words 
ated  facetiously,  originating  in  a  facetious  mood  of  author- 
ship or  oratory  sometimes  have  a  vitality  to  which  no  real 
worth  in  such  words  should  seem  to  entitle  them.  It  is 
one  of  the  collateral  evidences  that  man  was  made  to  be 
happy,  that  the  risible  faculty  has  so  much  power  as  it  has 
in  public  speech.  Very  little  is  required  to  make  an  audi- 
ence laugh.  The  same  principle  it  is,  probably,  which  gives 
ready  rootage  to  words  which  are  coined  by  the  risible 
emotions.  A  multitude  of  such  words  die  ;  but,  if  they  ex- 
press any  genuine  humor,  they  have  peculiar  chances  of  life. 

5.  It  deserves  remark,  that  writers  coin  many  words,  in 
the   haste   of   composition,   by  adding  the    Greek  termination 

"ice"   to  substantives.     A  new  verb    is    thus 

New  words  from  .  . 

adding  "  ize  "  to    created,  which  in  not  one  case  in  a  hundred 
becomes  permanent  in  the  language.    "Jeop- 
ardize," "municipalize,"  "chartize,"  "deputize,"  are  found 
almost  at  random  in  one  volume. 


VIOLATIOXS   OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE  2$ 

6.  Good  words  compounded  by  means  of  a  hyphen,  are  an- 
other form  of  barbarisms  from  new  coinage.  The  pulpit, 
from  time  immemorial,  has  been  in  this  re-    X7  ,    , 

'  New  words  from 

spect,  if  not  a  "  clen  of  thieves,"  a  nest  of  compounding 
counterfeiters.  "  Heaven-descended,"  "  soul- 
destroying,"  "  God-forgetting,"  "  God-defying,"  are  among 
the  counterfeit  words  of  this  construction  for  which  the 
pulpit  is  responsible.  Very  few  of  these  long-winded,  long- 
waisted,  long-tongued,  long-tailed,  and  \ong-eared  com- 
pounds, are  authorized  English. 

A  young  writer  has  no  protection  against  the  barbarisms 
of  this  class,  unless  he  finds  it  in  his  scholarly  tastes  and 
his  scholarly  reading.  When  once  fixed  in  a  writer's  style, 
they  form  one  of  the  most  debilitating  features,  especially 
in  the  style  of  a  public  speaker.  The  taste  for  them  de- 
stroys the  taste  for  monosyllabic  words,  on  which  the  force 
of  a  spoken  style  so  greatly  depends.  A  subtle  sympathy 
exists  between  these  compounds  and  long,  involuted  sen- 
tences. Be  not  deceived,  if  occasionally  Effect  of 
they  appear  to  strengthen  style.  In  the  pounded  words 
general  effect  they  dilute  and  flatten  it.  onstye- 
They  invite  a  drawl  in  delivery.  They  are  a  drawl  in  ex- 
pression. Few  forms  of  mannerism  run  to  such  extremes 
as  this,  when  once  the  scruples  of  good  taste  are  broken 
down.  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  in  "  Roland  Yorke,"  speaks  of 
the  "  not-attempted-to-be-concealed  care."  Another  author 
remarks  upon  "  the-sudden  -  at-the  -  moment  -  though  -  from- 
lingering- illness -often -previously -expected  death"  of  the 
heroine.  It  does  not  require  scholarly  erudition  to  de- 
cide that  such  a  tape-worm  as  this  has  no  proper  place 
above  ground.  The  taste  which  could  tolerate  it  is  hope- 
less barbarism.  The  next  phase  of  such  culture  is  cannibal- 
ism. 


26  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

ANALYSIS. 
VIOLATIONS   OF   PURITY. 

I.  Obsolete  Words. 

i.  James  Russell  Lowell's  Test. 

2.  Use  in  Poetry. 

3.  Use  in  Prayer. 

4.  Use  in  Ordinary  Discourse. 

II.  New  Words. 

1.  Absolute  Creations. 

2.  Contractions  of  Old  Words. 

3.  Expansions  of  Old  Words. 

4.  New  Words  formed  Facetiously. 

5.  Union  of  Greek  Terminations  and  Old  Substantives. 

6.  New  Words  by  Compounding  Old  Words. 


CHAPTER  IV 

VIOLATIONS  OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE  (CONTINUED) 

We  have  observed  that  the  growth  of  a  national  civiliza- 
tion necessitates  the  growth  of  its  language.  No  other  one 
thing  expresses  a  nation's  mind  so  exactly  as  its  language 
does.  The  growth  of  the  language  must  be,  in  part,  by 
new  coinage.  How,  then,  shall  we  judge  when  to  reject, 
and  when  to  employ,  new  words  ?  By  the  common  consent 
of  scholars  the  following  principles  are  recognized. 

I. — Six   Principles  Which  are  to  Determine   the  Ac- 
ceptance or  the  Rejection  of  New  Words. 

i.  One  is,  that  an  acknowledged  master  of  a  science  or 
of  literary  acquisitions  may  coin  such  new  words  as,  in  his 
judgment,  the  necessities  of  the  language  re- 

,«-     ,  ,        •      i  ,  -j       Men  of  science. 

quire.     Modern  physical  science  has  received 
immense    expansion.     Its    nomenclature   is  almost   wholly 
new,  created  by  experts   in   the   sciences.      Even    mental 
science  claims  this  prerogative.       Coleridge 
claimed  the  right,  as  an  expert  in  psychology,       ~°  en  ge' 
to  introduce  into  our  language  the  German  distinction  be- 
tween   the    understanding   and   the    reason.     That  use   of 
these  words  is  thus  far  technical  to  the  science  which  has 
created  it.     If  philosophers  generally  accept  it,  by  the  laws 
of  good  taste  it  becomes  authoritative  in  our  dictionaries. 
Criticism  must  not  condemn  it  as  a  novelty  or  an  importa- 
tion.    Mr.  Grote,  in  his  "  History  of  Greece," 
coins  the  word  "dicast."     It  means  nearly, 
yet  not  exactly,  the  same  as  our   word   "juryman."     Mr. 


28  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Grote  therefore  exercises  his  literary  right  as  an  historian 
to  import  the  word  from  the  Greek,  which  is  its  original. 
He  cannot  otherwise  express  the  idea  without  a  cumbrous 
circumlocution. 

2.  Another  principle  which  criticism  admits  is,  that  an 
acknowledged  master  of  the  English  tongue  may  coin  such 
Masters  of  words  as,  in  his  judgment,  it  requires  for  its 
Enslish  precision  or  its  affluence  of  expression. 
Scholarly  taste  allows  this  as  one  of  the  prerogatives  of 
scholarly  authorship.  The  prerogative  is  unquestioned  in 
proportion  to  the  critical  care  of  the  author  who  claims  it. 
A  new  word  used  by  Addison,  Swift,  Macaulay,  Irving, 
Everett,  would  have  a  claim  to  recognition  which  a  word 
coined  by  Carlyle  would  not  have.  The  writers  first  named 
are  known  to  have  been  scrupulous  in  their  use  of  good 
English,  and  no  other.  Carlyle  is  notorious  for  his  reck- 
Carlyle  and  lessness  of  scholarly  taste,  neither  cherish- 
other  writers.  mg  ft  himself,  nor  respecting  it  in  others. 
De  Quincey  advances,  as  one  test  of  an  author's  sway  over 
the  national  mind,  how  many  original  words,  phrases,  idi- 
oms, significations,  does  he  succeed  in  ingrafting  upon  the 
national  tongue  ? 

3.  Another  principle  which  critics  admit  with  restrictions 
is,  that  some  novelties  in  language  may  be  created  by  au- 
Writers  of  only  thors  of  only  provincial  or  local  fame.  "With 
local  fame.  restrictions,"  it  is  to  be  remembered  :  criti- 
cism here  only  conforms  to  facts.  The  number  of  words 
thus  originated  is  incalculable  :  the  number  that  live  is  very 
small.  It  is  the  authors  of  inferior  power  and  repute  who 
are  most  free  in  such  coinage  :  their  authority  is  in  inverse 
proportion  to  their  presumption.  Yet  a  small  fraction  of 
the  language  owes  its  origin  to  them.  Robert  Southey 
coined  the  word  "deicide."  He  gave  three  reasons  for  it  ; 
that  it  is  in  strict  analogy  with  other  words  in  good  use — 
"suicide,"  "fratricide,"  "parricide,"  "regicide;"  that  its 


J'/OLATIOXS   OF  PURITY   OF  STYLE  29 

meaning  is  obvious  ;  and  that  no  other  word  in  the  lan- 
guage expresses  the  same  idea.  Very  good  reasons  these  : 
it  would  be  hard  to  answer  them.  Yet  the  word  has  not 
yet  found  its  way  into  the  usage  of  the  first  class  of  au- 
thors. 

4.  A  fourth  principle  is,  that  it  is  a  doubtful  experiment 
with  any  man  to  add  a  word  to  his  native  tongue.  The 
creation  of  a  word  is  a  great  assumption  over 

.  ...  The  creation    of 

human  thought.  It  is  a  challenge  to  a  na-  a  word  a  doubt- 
tion's  mind.  It  may  be  an  assault  on  a  na-  ful  exPeriment- 
tion's  prejudices.  It  may  be  resisted  by  the  whole  momen- 
tum of  a  nation's  history.  It  may  be  ejected  by  the  force 
of  a  nation's  whims.  The  chances  are  as  a  thousand  to  one 
against  its  success.  Such  a  word  may  have  every  scholarly 
quality  in  its  favor,  and  yet  it  may  die  of  sheer  neglect.  It 
dies  without  so  much  as  a  burial.  The  nation  often  does 
not  resist  it,  does  not  argue  about  it,  but  simply  says,  "  We 
do  not  want  it."  Cicero  had  no  superior  as 
an  authority  in  Roman  literature,  yet  he 
failed  more  frequently  than  he  succeeded  in  his  attempts  to 
improve  the  vernacular  of  his  countrymen.  The  same  is 
true  of  Milton  and  of  Coleridge,  both  of  whom  were  stu- 
dents of  the  forces  of  language,  masters  of  racy  English, 
and  experimenters  in  the  creation  of  novel  words. 

5.  A  fifth  principle  bearing  upon  the  subject  grows  out 
of  a  peculiarity  of  modern  literature  :  it  is,  that  new  coin- 
age by  journalists  should  be  accepted  with  Words  coined 
great  caution.  Journalists  are  a  class  of  by  journalists, 
writers  of  recent  origin.  They  include  in  their  guild  very 
many  rudely  educated  men.  They  write  much  in  haste  ; 
they  write  by  shorthand  ;  they  write  often  in  a  somnolent 
state,  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  The  consequence 
is,  that  they  coin  words  recklessly.  Theirs  is  not  often 
leisurely  and  scholarly  authorship.  Very  few  of  them  at- 
tain to  the  first  rank  in  literature.     Where  can  be  found 


30  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

among  them  the  peer  of  Bryant  ?  Their  suggestions  of  new 
words  are  often  crude.  One  of  them,  for  example,  proposes 
the  word  "  thalagram,"  to  express  a  message 
through  the  Atlantic  cable.  He  coins  it 
from  Greek  originals.  But,  so  far  as  is  known,  no  second 
writer  has  approved  it,  and  for  the  very  good  reason,  that 
nobody  needs  it.  Why  do  we  need  any  other  than  the  word 
"telegram?"  We  say,  "  A  telegram  from  Chicago,"  as  we 
say,  "A  telegram  from  London."  Why  do  we  need  a  word 
to  remind  us  that  the  one  came  from  under  the  sea,  more 
than  a  word  to  remind  us  that  the  other  came  through  a 
line  of  cedar  posts  and  insulated  wires  ?  Good  taste  for- 
bids overloading  the  language  with  rubbish.  A  language 
should  be  like  a  library,  well  selected,  not  conglomerated. 
This  new  coin,  "thalagram,"  has  fallen  flat  on  the  national 
taste,  as  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  be  the  fate  of  the  still  more 
wretched  medley,  "  cablegram."  Two  lan- 
guages are  searched  for  the  rubbish  which  is 
patched  to  make  this  barbarism.  The  decisive  test  of  new 
coinage  in  a  language  is  the  question  of  necessity.  Does 
the  language  need  it  ?  If  not,  no  other  reason  for  it  can 
commend  it  to  good  taste. 

6.  A  sixth  principle  that  the  usage  of  good  writers  prac- 
tically applies  to  the  subject  to  be  noted  is,  that  authors  of 
New  words  not  the  first  class,  acknowledged  by  all  others  as 
n^be  some1-  literary  authorities,  may  occasionally  coin  a 
times  coined.  word  which  they  would  not  recommend  as 
good  English,  and  would  not  introduce  into  a  standard  dic- 
tionary if  they  could.  They  may  do  it  as  an  exception  to 
their  general  rule.  Thus  Coleridge  writes  :  "  If  the  reader 
will  pardon  an  uncouth  and  new-coined  word,  there  is,  I 

_  ,    .,  should  say,  not  seldom,  a  mattcr-of-fact-ncss  in 

Coleridge.  ■"  J  J 

certain  poems."  Coleridge  here  coins  a 
word,  which,  though  he  was  very  unequal  in  his  choice  of 
English,  he  evidently  would  not  recommend.     He  apolo- 


VIOLATIONS   OF  PARITY   OF  STYLE  3 1 

gizes  for  it.  He  employs  it  exceptionally.  The  liberty  to 
do  this  is  a  perilous  one  :  a  young  writer  may  more  wisely 
refrain  from  assuming  it.  The  tendency  to  corruption  is 
so  strong,  that  while  one's  style  is  in  the  process  of  forma- 
tion, as  it  is  in  the  early  years  of  one's  practice,  the  safe 
course  is,  not  to  use  any  word  which  writers  of  the  first  or- 
der would  not  recommend,  as  well  as  indulge  exceptionally. 
Yet  the  indulgence  in  question  must  be  named  because  it 
exists,  and  it  is  sometimes  indulged  by  the  best  writers. 
We  cannot  hope  to  enforce  a  style  which  is  better  than  the 
best. 

James  Russell  Lowell,  for  example,  is  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  critics  and  authors  in  our  language.  A  word 
coined  by  him  with  expressed  approval  would  Tames  Russell 
carry  all  the  authority  which  any  one  man's  Lowell, 
name  can  give  to  a  word.  But  when  he  coins,  as  he  does, 
such  words  as  "  cloudbergs  "  and  "  otherworldliness  "  and 
"  Dr.  Wattsiness,"  he  descends  from  style  to  slang.  He 
coins  them  as  an  exceptional  and  rare  indulgence.  He 
does  not  expect  to  see  them  in  the  next  edition  of  Worces- 
ter's Dictionary.  He  would  be  ashamed  to  see  them  there 
with  his  name  as  their  authority.  He  would  be  the  last 
man  to  authorize  such  words  by  scholarly  criticism.  He 
knows,  and  the  world  of  scholars  knows,  that  his  own  schol- 
arly reputation  will  bear  such  occasional  departures  from 
good  English,  somewhat  as  a  very  saintly  man  can  bear  to 
be  seen  carrying  a  flask  of  brandy  in  the  street.  That 
which  is  a  literary  peccadillo  from  James  Russell  Lowell'  s 
pen  may  be  unscholarly  slovenliness  from  the  pen  of  one 
unknown  to  fame.  It  is  due  to  fact  to  recognize  this  excep- 
tional license  in  authors  of  good  repute,  because  it  is  a 
fact ;  yet  we  do  not  thereby  commend  it  as  a  rule,  nor  even 
as  an  exception.  It  exists  :  that  is  all  that  we  can  say  of 
it. 


$2  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


II. — Importation  of  Foreign  Words. 

Similar  to  the  effect  of  unnecessary  novelties  upon  a 
pure  style  is  that  of  needless  importation  of  foreign  contri- 
butions to  the  language.  The  vernacular  tongue  is  the 
tongue  of  a  man  who  means  to  be  understood.  We  commit 
a  barbarism  if  we  import  a  foreign  word  when  an  English 
word  will  express  our  thought  as  well. 

i.  It  deserves  mention,  first,  that  this  error  is  often 
caused  by  a  pedantic  attachment  to  foreign  languages. 
„     ,       , ,    .      Professors  of  the  Greek  language  often  think 

Greek  and  Latin.  &      & 

in  Greek.  1  hey  use  a  Greek  word,  there- 
fore, when  no  poverty  of  the  English  tongue  creates  the 
necessity.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  taste  of  English 
scholars  was  infected  with  a  morbid  preference  for  the  Latin 
language  to  their  own.  This  led  to  the  introduction  of  ex- 
tremely ungainly  words,  which  good  use  has  never  adopted. 

Milton's  style   is  defaced  bv  such  words  as 
Milton.  J  J 

"ludibundness,'    "  subsammation,"  "septem- 

fluous."     Even    Milton's    authority    has    not    forced    these 

words  into  the  language  :    the    national   good    sense    has 

been  too  strong  for  that.     Dr.  Samuel  Johnson's  Latinized 

^  style  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  a  similar  freak  in 

Dr.  Johnson. 

the  taste  of  a  later  age.  In  him  it  manifested 
itself,  not  only  in  the  use  of  words  not  English,  but  in  dis- 
torting the  proportion  of  words  of  Latin  to  those  of  Saxon 
derivation,  and  in  an  imitation  of  Latin  construction  also, 
which  renders  his  style  one  of  the  most  foreign  to  the 
genius  of  our  language  to  be  found  in  our  literature.  Yet 
his  was  a  mind  compact  with  sturdy  and  solid  English  ele- 
ments, which  gave  to  his  literary  opinions,  as  Carlyle  says, 
"  a  gigantic  calmness."  They  made  his  conversation  the 
antipodes  of  his  written  style.  In  conversation  he  was 
racy,  laconic,  fleet  ;  in  writing  he  was  ponderous,  lumber- 


VI0LA7T0NS   OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE  33 

ing,  logy.     In  conversation  he  was  an  antelope  :  in  his  books 
he  was  a  whale. 

2.  Again  :  an  undue  regard  for  the  etymology  of  words 
often  leads  to  improprieties  from  foreign  importation.  A 
word  often  has  in  its  Greek  or  Latin  root  a 

Etymology. 

meaning  which  its  English  form  has  entirely 
lost.  You  find  a  familiar  illustration  of  this  in  the  word 
"  prevent,"  which  King  James's  translators  of  the  Bible, 
following  the  usage  of  their  age,  have  retained  in  its  ety- 
mological meaning  —  a  meaning  which  later  usage  has 
abandoned.  Many  contested  passages  in  Shakespeare  de- 
pend on  the  question,  whether   he    adopted       ,   , 

.  Shakespeare. 

the  pure  English,  or  the  etymological  Eng- 
lish, of  his  times.  Meaningless  words  become  rich  in  sense, 
and  obscure  words  become  clear  often,  in  his  plays,  by 
reading  them,  not  as  modern  English,  but  with  their  ety- 
mology in  mind.  An  affectation  of  etymological  science  is 
apt  to  infect  the  style  of  a  writer  who  reads  more  in  for- 
eign languages  than  in  his  own.  De  Quincey  is  often  guilty 
of  this.  It  is  the  more  inexcusable  defect  in  a  modern 
author  ;  because  he  has  what  Shakespeare  and  Milton  had 
not — a  matured  language  at  his  command. 

3.  Further  :  the  composite  character  of  our  English  tongue 
has  a  twofold  bearing  upon  the  question  of  admitting  im- 
portations. Our  language  is  largely  made  up  composite  char- 
of  accretions  from  abroad.  It  is,  in  this  re-  acter  of  English, 
spect,  very  unlike  the  ancient  Greek  and  Latin  languages 
and  the  modern  German.  Those  were,  to  a  great  extent, 
evolved  from  internal  resources.  Our  own  language  grows 
very  slowly  by  such  evolution.  Its  history  is  a  history  of 
innovations.  As  our  national  stock  is  a  composite  one, 
made  up  from  many  tributary  migrations,  so  our  language 
is  a  composite  product,  made  up  from  almost  all  the  civilized 
languages  on  the  globe.  If  we  want  a  new  word,  we  instinc- 
tively go  for  it  to  some  foreign  source.     Thus  the  English 

3 


34  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

nomenclature  of  the  natural  sciences  is  almost  wholly  Greek 
and  Latin.  One  critic  contends  that  ours  is  a  decadent 
tongue,  because  it  shows  so  little  power  of  growth  from  with- 
in. This  composite  character  of  our  language,  to  repeat, 
has  a  twofold  bearing  on  the  question  of  foreign  imports. 

It  should  render  our  taste  tolerant  of  such  imports,  when 

they  are  necessary  to  the  affluence  of  the  language.     This 

,     . ,     being-  the   composite   structure  of  it,  an  im- 

\\  hv  we  should  &  *  ' 

be  tolerant  of  portation  from  abroad  is  a  less  evil  than  it 
was  to  the  Greek  language  of  the  Augustan 
age.  It  does  less  violence  to  the  genius  of  the  English 
than  it  did  to  that  of  the  Augustan  Greek.  Some  importa- 
tions every  language  must  have.  Every  finished  language 
has  words  for  ideas  which  no  other  language  expresses  as 
well.  We  are  already  borrowing  some  philosophical  words 
from  Germany.  We  are  obliged  to  do  so,  because  we  bor- 
row the  ideas  there.  Some  French  words  express  ideas 
which  no  corresponding  English  terms  express  as  well. 
De  Quincey  asks,  How  can  the  idea  of  a  "post-office"  be 
expressed  in  Greek?  or  that  of  a  "coquette,"  in  Hebrew? 
If  a  language  needs  the  foreign  word  to  give  utterance  to 
the  foreign  thought,  it  must  import  the  foreign  word. 
Words  are  made  for  thought,  not  thought  for  words. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  composite  structure  of  our 
language  should  make  us  intolerant  of  importations  when 
Why  we  should  they  are  needless.  This  dependence  on 
be  intolerant  of      foreign  sources  for  linguistic  growth  is    an 

such  imports.  .,  ,  ...    ,  , 

evil.  Any  language  will  be  the  more  sym- 
metrical, and  free  from  anomalies,  if  developed  from  its 
native  stock.  A  graft  makes  a  gnarl  in  a  tree  :  so  does  an 
importation  make  a  protuberance  in  a  language.  Let  the 
natural  resources,  therefore,  be  developed  if  they  can  be  : 
let  us  take  the  alien  tribute  only  when  we  must.  There 
was  great  significance  in  Caesar's  rule  of  composition  :  "  Al- 
ways shun,  if  possible,  the  insolens  verbum." 


VIOLATIONS   OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE  35 


III. — Provincialisms. 

Purity  of  style  is  further  impaired  by  the  needless  use  of 
provincialisms.  National  usage  being  our  standard,  that  is 
not  pure  English  which  has  only  sectional  authority,  unless 
sectional  necessities  compel  its  use. 

It  should  be  remarked,  however,  that  words  of  provincial 
origin  often  become  good  English.  Such  words  may  force 
their  way  into  universal  use.  All  words  be-  words  of  provin- 
gin  to  be  somewhere.  They  may  have  at  cial  orisin- 
first  a  small  constituency.  Many  of  the  most  impressive 
words  in  the  language  had  a  provincial  origin.  The  word 
"  caucus  "  is  of  American  birth  :  it  was  first  used  by  old 
Samuel  Adams.  Now  no  English  dictionary  would  be  com- 
plete without  it. 

Further  :  words  remaining  provincial  may  be  good  Eng- 
lish. They  may  be  necessitated  by  provincial  peculiarities 
— peculiarities  of  climate,  of  soil,  of  produc-  words  remain- 
tions,  of  institutions,  of  history.  American-  ing provincial. 
isms,  especially,  are  very  numerous,  which  must  still  be  ac- 
cepted on  the  score  of  provincial  necessity.  "  Senatorial," 
"gubernatorial,"  "mileage,"  "prairie,"  "backwoods," 
"clearings,"  "pine-barrens,"  "savannas,"  "federalist," 
"  nullifiers,"  "  anti-renters,"  "  free-soilers,"  "  pro-slavery," 
and  many  others,  have  been  created  by  peculiarities  in  our 
provincial  soil,  or  climate,  or  institutions,  or  history. 

IV. — Vulgarisms. 

The  most  unschoiarly  violations  of  purity  consist  of 
vulgarisms.  Reputable  usage  being  our  standard  only  that 
is  pure  style  which  has  the  authority  of  au- 

,.1  11  ,    r  „  .  Pure  style. 

thors  and  speakers  of  national  fame.    Several 

things  here   deserve  attention.     One   is,  that   the  adoption 

in  dignified  writings  of  the   usage  of  the  illiterate  is  the 


36  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

chief  source  of  corruption  to  any  language.  The  language 
of  common  life  is  full  of  slang  :  nothing  controls  it  but  the 
taste  of  scholars.  It  is  intelligible,  often  forcible  :  its  very 
Prevalence  of  vulgarity  gives  it  a  rude  strength.  A  large 
slanS-  class  of  middlemen  between  the  scholars  and 

the  vulgar  do  not  know  enough,  or  do  not  care  enough, 
about  the  principles  of  taste,  to  refrain  from  slang  in  their 
own  practice.  Newspapers  constantly  seek  notoriety  by 
the  use  of  it.  A  vast  amount  of  the  facetiousness  of  jour- 
nalists is  made  up  of  it.  It  is,  therefore,  an  ever  open  door- 
way for  the  inroad  of  corrupt  taste  into  scholarly  usage. 

ANALYSIS. 

VIOLATIONS   OF   PURITY   OF   STYLE   (CONTINUED). 

I.  Six    Principles    Determining   the   Acceptance   or   Rejection   of 

New  Words. 

i.  As  offered  by  Men  of  Science. 

2.  As  offered  by  Masters  of  the  English  Tongue. 

3.  As  offered  by  Writers  of  only  Local  Fame. 

4.  As  offered  by  any  man  a  Doubtful  Experiment. 

5.  As  offered  by  Journalists. 

6.  As  offered  by  Authors  when  the  words  are  not  recommended 
as  Good  English. 

(a)  Coleridge. 

(b)  James  Russell  Lowell. 

II.  Importation  of  Foreign  Words. 

1.  From  the  Study  of  Greek  and  Latin. 

2.  From  the  Study  of  Etymology. 

3.  From  the  Composite  Character  of  English. 

(a)  Why  we  should  be  Tolerant  of  such  Imports. 

(b)  Why  we  should  be  Intolerant  of  such  Imports. 

III.  Provincialisms. 


I, 


What  Provincialisms  may  be  Good  English. 


IV.  Vulgarisms. 


CHAPTER  V 

REASONS    FOR    THE     CULTIVATION    OF    PURITY    OF 

STYLE 

I. — Value  of  Purity  of  Style. 

The  question  is  not  an  unnatural  one — probably  every 
public  speaker  asks  it  when  his  attention  is  first  called  to 
the  subject — Is  the  use  of  scholarly  English  of  sufficient 
practical  value  to  repay  one  for  the  time  and  labor  it  will 
cost  to  acquire  it  and  to  make  it  habitual  ?  If  I  make  my- 
self understood  as  a  public  speaker,  do  I  not  accomplish 
the  great  object  of  speaking  ?  Is  not  a  scrupulous  regard 
for  a  scholarly  selection  of  words  the  fruit  of  a  squeamish 
taste  ?  At  the  most,  is  it  not  an  accomplishment  of  liter- 
ary leisure  rather  than  a  necessity  to  literary  labor  ? 

i.  Let  it  be  observed,  then,  that  literary  authority  is  uni- 
form in  support  of  purity  as  the  foundation  of  the  most  ef- 
fective style.  Cicero  declares  this  in  unquali-  Foundati  n  f 
fied   terms  ;  and  in   so  doing  he  speaks  the       the  most  effec- 

•     i  r      ,  i  i  ,  1  tive  style. 

judgment  of   the    ablest    authors,    speakers, 
critics,  of  all  time.     No  writer  of  distinction  depreciates  it 
theoretically.     Carlyle  represents  a  class  of  authors  who 
ignore  it  practically,  but  I  do  not  know  that  he  has  ever 
written  a  line  decrying  it  in  theory.     Liter- 

i    •         r       ■        .  .       c  Carlyle. 

ary  opinion  claims  for  it  the  rank  of  a  prac- 
tical necessity.  It  is  not  primarily  an  accomplishment,  but 
a  power.  Speakers  should  cultivate  it,  because  they  need 
it.  It  is  the  most  direct  and  effective  instrument  for  their 
purpose.  The  best  style  for  all  the  ends  of  public  dis- 
course is  a  pure  style.      This  is  the  ground  taken  by  liter- 


38  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

ary  opinion  on  the  subject.  It  ought  to  be  authoritative  to 
any  public  speaker  of  sufficient  education  to  enable  him  to 
understand  the  argument.  The  scholarly  judgment  of  the 
world  would  not  be  thus  uniform  if  it  were  not  true. 

2.  But,  more  specifically,  a  pure  style  is  tributary  to  the 
most  perfect  perspicuity  of  expression.  When  an  objector 
An  aid  to  per-  says,  "  If  I  make  myself  understood,  let  that 
spicuity.  suffice,"  he  begs  the  question.     The   surest 

way  to  be  understood  is  to  speak  your  pure  mother-tongue. 
Perspicuity  is  relative  to  the  intelligence  of  hearers,  but 
pure  English  all  hearers  understand.  The  provincial  dia- 
lects of  Great  Britain  are  such,  that  the  people  of  different 
shires  can  with  difficulty  understand  each  other  ;  but  pure 
English  they  all  understand.  A  speaker  who  employs 
classic  English  can  go  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the 
_,     .  _    ,. ,       other,  and  be  perfectly  understood  by  peo- 

Classic  English.  r  J  J     * 

ple  who  can  scarcely  make  themselves  intelli- 
gible to  one  another.  Yet  an  eminent  English  critic, 
speaking  of  the  English  peasantry,  says  that  "  a  rustic  lan- 
guage, purified  from  all  provincialism  and  grossness,  and  so 
far  reconstructed  as  to  be  consistent  with  the  rules  of  gram- 
mar, will  not  differ  from  the  language  of  any  other  man  of 
common  sense."  That  is  to  say,  the  popular  dialects  of 
Great  Britain  comprise,  for  their  staple  in  colloquial  use, 
good  English.  It  requires  but  a  sprinkling  of  provincial 
words  to  make  a  patois.  Pure  English  in  place  of  these 
makes  a  perfect  instrument  of  popular  speech. 

The  chief  reason  why  the  English  Bible  is  so  clear,  ex- 
cept where  the  argument  is  abstruse,  is,  that  its  vocabulary 

The  English  lii-  *s  sucn  Pure  anc*  simple  English.  It  is  this 
bie  and  "  Faerie     which  gives  to  the  English  Scriptures  their 

Queene."  S  6  f 

clearness,  prolonged  to  successive  genera- 
tions. They  were  published  in  the  same  age  with  Spen- 
ser's "  Faerie  Queene."  Now  the  "  Faerie  Queene  "  needs 
a  glossary,  while  the  Bible  is  as  intelligible  as  ever.     Two 


THE   CULTIVATION  OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE         39 

hundred  and  fifty  years  is  a  long  while  for  the  lifetime  of  a 
book.  No  book  can  live  so  long  which  is  not  written  in  the 
purest  vernacular  of  the  people.  One  of  the  reasons  of  the 
sway  of  the  Bible  over  the  other  literature  of  the  English 
tongue  is  that  its  style  is  so  pure.  An  accomplished  ex- 
pert in  English  literature  says  that  "  our  poetry  could  not 
have  been,  as  it  is,  the  noblest  body  of  poetry  in  the  world, 
if  the  divines  and  scholars  of  King  James's  era  had  taken 
it  upon  themselves  to  translate  the  Bible  into  the  polite 
language  of  the  court,  or  into  any  other  than  that  used  by 
the  common  people."  The  secret  of  the  sway  of  the  Script- 
ures over  English  literature  is,  that,  by  using  in  a  scholar- 
ly way  the  language  of  the  people,  our  translators  fell  back 
upon  the  purest  vocabulary  of  their  times  ;  and  that  vocab- 
ulary continues  to  be  perspicuous  to  all  classes  of  mind  to 
this  day.  The  purest  style  is  not  only  the  most  perspicu- 
ous for  the  time  being,  but  it  has  the  longest  heritage  of 
perspicuity  to  subsequent  generations.  The  purest  style 
has  the  longest  life. 

2.  Purity  is  tributary,  also,  to  the  most  forcible  style.  A 
vernacular  tongue  carries  weight  because  it  is  vernacular. 
Indefinable  magnetic  threads  connect  the  pure  vernacular 
with  the  sensibilities  of  the  people  who  use  it.  Love  of 
language  is  more  potent  than  love  of  country.  The  native 
country,  men  call  the  fatherAzxvA  :  the  native  T  ri 

J  '  J  Love  of  lan- 

language,  they  call  the  mot/ier-tongue.     The      guage  and  love 

inj^r  ,  •  i-i  -v  ■%•-,•  of  country. 

ballads  of  a  nation  which  move  its  sensibili- 
ties most  profoundly  are  written  in  the  purest  dialect. 
That  which  Milton  said  of  books  is  more  profoundly  true 
of  a  great  nation's  language  in  its  untainted  purity  : 
"  Books  are  not  dead  things,  but  they  do  carry  a  potency 
of  life  in  them."  So  that  style  which  "carries  a  potency  of 
life"  in  it  to  the  hearts  of  hearers  is  the  style  in  which  they 
recognize  their  purest  vernacular  vocabulary.  They  feel  it 
as  their  own.     It   has  roots   running  under  their  whole  in- 


40  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  TRACTICE 

tellectual  life,  and  going  back  to  their  infancy.  Swiss  sol- 
diers in  the  Austrian  service  used  to  be  forbidden  to  sing 
their  country's  songs  in  their  native  tongue  because  it 
tempted  so  many  to  desertion. 

This  force  of  a  vernacular  style  is  the  more  powerful  in 
the  English  language  because  of  the  intrinsic  vigor  of  its 
chief  fundamental  element,  the  Saxon.  "  Saxon  "  has  be- 
The  Saxon  ele-  come  a  synonym  of  "  strong."  This  is  the 
ment-  element  most  active    in    the  vitality  of  the 

English  Bible,  to  which  I  have  referred.  How  long  could 
the  Lord's  Prayer  in  English  form  live  if  it  had  been  trans- 
lated into  Latinized  English  like  that  of  Sir  Thomas 
Browne  ?  Suppose  the  style  of  it  to  have  been  as  technical 
to  religious  thought  as  the  following  is  to  the  science  of 
medicine.  A  lady  has  died  suddenly,  and  the  reporter  thus 
describes  the  event :  "  An  autopsy  was  held,  which  revealed 
extensive  cardiac  disease,  consisting  of  hypertrophy,  with 
aneurism  of  the  aorta  just  below  its  bifurcation,  the  rupture 
of  which  was  the  proximate  cause  of  dissolution."  It  re- 
quires a  classical  scholar  to  understand  from  this  that  the 
person  died  of  heart  disease.  How  long  would  the  readers 
of  that  rural  newspaper  continue  their  use  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer  if  it  had  been  taught  to  them  by  our  translators  in 
such  a  style  as  this  ? 

4.  Moreover,  the  genius  of  the  English  mind  has  given  to 
the  language  the  resources  which  specially  adapt  it  to  pub- 
Demanded  for  lie  oral  discourse,  as  distinct  from  that  of 
inpubli^or11]43  scholastic  research.  The  English  mind  is 
discourse.  pre-eminently  the  practical  mind  of  modern 

times.  As  the  German  is  the  philosophic,  and  the  French 
the  scientific,  so  the  English  is  the  national  mind  most 
heartily  given  to  the  practical  civilization  of  the  age.  The 
English  are  also  a  nation  of  public  speakers.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  American  people.  In  no  other  countries  in  the 
world  is  language  so  much  used  in  public  oral  discourse  as 


THE   CULTIVATION  OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE         41 

in  these.  In  the  eloquence  of  the  pulpit,  of  the  bar,  of  the 
senate,  of  the  platform,  our  language  is  the  best  fitted  for 
use,  in  part  because  it  is  most  abundantly  used  in  all  these 
varieties  of  public  speech.  Such  a  language  as  this,  with 
such  a  history  behind  it,  and  the  force  of  such  a  history 
in  its  structure,  deserves  to  be  employed  with  scholarly 
care. 

5.  Lest  the  estimate  here  given  of  the  intrinsic  value  of 
our  language  should  seem  extravagant,  let  us  observe 
the  testimony  of  European  scholars.  The  Testimony  of 
first  is  that  of  Jacob  Grimm,  the  German  lex-  Jacob  Grimm, 
icographer.  From  the  midst  of  the  most  learned  etymolog- 
ical studies  of  the  age  he  once  sent  forth  this  tribute  to  a 
language  not  his  own.  "  The  English  language,"  he  wrote, 
"  has  a  veritable  power  of  expression  such  as,  perhaps, 
never  stood  at  the  command  of  any  other  language  of  men. 
Its  spiritual  genius,  its  wonderfully  happy  development, 
have  been  the  result  of  a  surprisingly  intimate  union  of 
the  two  noblest  languages  of  modern  Europe — the  Teutonic 
and  the  Romanza.  In  truth,  the  English  tongue,  which  by 
no  mere  accident  has  produced  and  upborne  the  greatest 
poet  of  modern  times,  may  with  all  right  be  called  a  world- 
language.  Like  the  English  people,  it  appears  destined  to 
prevail,  with  a  sway  more  extensive  even  than  its  present, 
over  all  portions  of  the  globe.  For  in  wealth,  good  sense, 
and  closeness  of  structure,  no  other  languages  at  this  day 
spoken,  not  even  our  German,  deserve  to  be  compared  to 
it."  This  is  the  judgment  of  a  German,  who  would  not  need- 
lessly exalt  a  foreign  tongue  at  the  expense  of  his  own.  It 
is  the  judgment  of  a  philologist,  who  would  not  indulge  in 
declamation  on  such  a  theme.  It  is  the  judgment  of  one  of 
the  most  learned  men  of  the  age,  who  knew  whereof  he  af- 
firmed. 

The  late  Baron  Humboldt  expressed,  not  long  before  his 
decease,  substantially  the  same  opinion  of  the  capacities  of 


42  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   TRACTICE 

the  English  as  compared  with  the  classic  languages  of  an- 
tiquity. The  Academy  of  Berlin  once  gave  a  prize  for  the 
best  essay  on  a  comparison  of  fourteen  of  the  ancient  and 
modern  tongues.  The  prize  was  awarded  to  Jenisch,  and 
the  essay  assigned  the  palm  of  excellence  over 

Guizot.  11      i  i        T-        i  •    i  /".     •  i    • 

all  the  rest  to  the  English.  Guizot  claims 
the  superiority,  in  some  respects,  for  the  French  tongue; 
yet  he  concedes  the  pre-eminence  of  Shakespeare  over  all 
other  modern  poets,  and  affirms  that  Shakespeare  could 
not  have  written  his  unequalled  dramas  in  any  other  than 
the  English  language.  No  English,  no  Shakespeare,  is  the 
gist  of  his  criticism.  The  point  to  which  such  testimony 
is  to  be  bent  is  this,  that  such  a  language  deserves  protec- 
tion from  decadence  and  corruption.  Its  purity  is  its  glory. 
Scholarly  taste  ought  to  stand  sentinel  over  such  a  national 
treasure  in  the  persons  of  the  authors  and  public  speakers 
who  use  the  language  in  dignified  discourse. 

II. — Purity  Ought  to  Characterize  the  Ruling  Lan- 
guage of  the  World. 

i.  Another  reason  for  the  scholarly  conservation  of  our 
language  in  its  purity  is  the  fact  that  the  knowledge  and 
Rapid  spread  of  tne  use  °f  *t  are  rapidly  extending  over  the 
Eng-Jsh.  nations  of  the  world.     It  is  now  the  mother- 

tongue  of  the  masters  of  one-fourth  of  the  civilized  globe. 
De  Quincey  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  English  and  the 

_,    _  .  Spanish  are  destined  to  contest  the  control 

De  Quincey.  * 

of  the  civilization  of  the  future.  Why  the 
Spanish  should  be  thought  able  to  engage  in  such  a  compe- 
tition is  probably  because  Spain  has  been  what  England 
is — the  great  colonizing  power  of  the  globe.  Its  language, 
therefore,  has  a  lodgment  at  many  commanding  points 
on  both  continents.  A  short  time  ago  seventeen  differ- 
ent   governments    corresponded  with    the    Department    of 


THE   CULTIVATION  OF  PURITY  OF  STYLE         43 

State  at  Washington  in  Spanish — a  larger  number,  prob- 
ably, than  that  of  correspondents  in  any  other  tongue. 
Alison  the  historian  gives  it  as  the  result  of 

0  Alison. 

his  studies  of  the  institutions  of  Europe,  that 
the  language  of  half  the  world,  for  ages,  will  be  our  own. 
Other  ethnologists  and  philologians  express  the  same  or  a 
similar  opinion. 

2.  The  fact  also  deserves  more  particular  notice,  that 
English  is  the  language  of  colonization  and  of  commerce 
the  world  over.     Those  agencies  which  are    _.    ,  - 

0  I  he  language  01 

most  effective  in  extending  commerce,  and    colonization  and 

,       .    .  ,        .  1      ■        ii         commerce. 

colonizing  new  lands,  are  rooted  in  the 
nations  to  which  English  speech  is  vernacular.  In  these 
lines  of  expansion,  the  French,  the  Spanish,  and  the  Ger- 
man— the  only  tongues  which  in  other  respects  can  com- 
pete with  ours — have  no  future  comparable  with  that  of 
ours.  The  absorption  of  them,  wherever  they  come  into 
rivalship  with  English  on  a  large  scale  and  on  a  new  soil,  is 
only  a  question  of  time.  If  new  and  uninhabited  lands  are 
to  be  discovered  on  the  globe,  the  chances  are  that  the 
first  foot  planted  on  their  soil  will  be  that  of  an  English- 
man or  an  American,  and  that  the  first  word  of  human 
speech  heard  there  will  be  from  our  mother-tongue.  Even 
in  Central  Europe,  English  is  gaining  ground  as  the  lan- 
guage of  culture.  The  ability  to  speak  it  is  English  in  Cen- 
recognized  both  as  an  accomplishment  of  tral  Europe- 
culture  and  a  necessity  of  commerce.  The  old  idea  of 
making  Latin  the  dialect  of  learning  is  now  shut  up  to  the 
universities.  The  later  fashion,  of  making  French  the  dia- 
lect of  courts,  is  also  yielding  ground.  In  many  German 
cities  English  is  spoken  in  every  other  store  one  enters. 
Ask  for  a  hat  in  broken  German,  and  the  chance  is,  that  you 
will  be  asked  in  return,  in  a  dialect  as  pure  as  yours,  "  Can 
you  speak  English  ?" 

Commerce  and  colonization  have  effected  such  an  exten- 


44  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AXD  PRACTICE 

sion  of  the  use  of  this   language,  that  an  English  traveller, 

not  long  ago,  starting  from   Liverpool,  and  following  the 

sun,  travelled  on  a  belt  around  the  globe,  and 
Experience  of 
an  English  trav-     never  was    for   twenty-four   hours    on    land 

out  of  hearing  of  his  native  tongue,  spoken 
by  natives  of  the  countries  he  visited.  Dilke's  "  Greater 
Britain  "  is  well  worth  reading,  for  the  conception  it  gives 
one  of  the  steadiness  and  the  grandeur  with  which  English 
speech  is  marching  over  the  habitable  world.  It  is  more 
sublime  than  the  tramp  of  an  army.  Mr.  Webster  gave  ex- 
pression to  a  profound  fact,  prophetic  of  this  world's  des- 
tiny, when  he  represented  the  globe  as  surrounded  with 
one  "  continuous  and  unbroken  strain  of  the  martial  airs  of 
England." 

ANALYSIS. 

REASONS   FOR  THE  CULTIVATION   OF   PURITY   OF   STYLE. 

I.  Value  of  Purity  of  Style. 

i .  Purity  the  Foundation  of  the  Most  Effective  Style. 

2.  Purity  an  aid  to  Clearness  or  Perspicuity. 

3.  Purity  an  aid  to  Force  or  Energy. 

4.  Purity  demanded  for  the  Best  Results  of  Public  Oral  Discourse. 

5.  Testimony  as  to  the  Value  of  English  by  European  Scholars. 

II.  Purity   ought   to   Characterize   the    Ruling   Language   of    the 

World. 

1.  Rapid  spread  of  English. 

2.  English  the  Language  of  Colonization  and  of  Commerce. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PURITY  OF  STYLE  (CONCLUDED) 

I. — Why  American  Writers  and  Speakers  Should  use 

Pure  English. 

American  speakers  and  writers  should  cultivate  the  use 
of  pure  English  because  the  language  is  in  special  danger 
of  corruption  in  this  country.  The  danger  arises  from 
several  causes,  which  can  be  but  briefly  noticed  here. 

One  is,  that  republican  institutions  favor  the  influence  of 
the  illiterate  upon  the  language.  Our  people  are  intelli- 
gent, yet  in  the  main  illiterate.  Republican-  influence  of  the 
ism  creates  a  multitude  of  illiterate  speakers.  llliterate. 
It  tends,  also,  to  promote  the  use  of  the  language  in  ad- 
dress to  the  illiterate.  As  a  nation  we  have  no  such  knowl- 
edge as  that  which  extensive  reading  gives,  and  no  such 
delicacy  of  ear  for  the  sounds  of  the  language  as  the  people 
of  Athens  had  in  their  better  days.  Popular  influence  on 
the  use  of  the  language,  therefore,  is  powerful,  and  at  the 
same  time  not  subject  to  good  taste.  Public  speakers  of 
all  classes  are  tempted  to  speak  for  sensational  effect. 
Members  of  the  American  Senate  illustrate  the  force  of  this 
temptation  in  the  prejudice  which  some  of  them  have  ex- 
pressed in  words  quite  equal  to  the  dignity  of  the  senti- 
ment, against  "  literary  fellers  "  among  their  Stephen  A. 
associates.  The  late  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Doug-  Douglas, 
las  once  declared  it  to  be  a  disqualification  for  the  duties 
of  senator,  that  a  man  had  a  classical  education. 


46  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

2.  Again  :  the  extent  of  our  territory  favors  the  forma- 
tion of  provincial  dialects.  The  dialects  in  the  different 
The  extent  of  shires  of  England  have  been  mentioned.  In 
our  territory.  France  the  same  thing  abounds.  The  peas- 
antry of  different  departments  find  it  difficult  to  under- 
stand each  other.  Yet  France  has  a  territory  not  so  large 
as  Texas.  Herodotus  tells  us,  that  the  dialects  of  ancient 
Greece  often  could  not  be  intelligibly  interchanged  by  those 
who  used  them.  Yet  Greece  comprised  a  landed  area  less 
than  that  of  one-half  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  What 
shall  prevent  the  growth  of  provincial  tongues  in  a  territory 
measured  by  thousands  of  miles  from  sea  to  sea,  divided  by 
such  lines  of  demarcation  as  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and^em3_ 
bracing  every  variety  of  climate  and  production  within  the 
temperate  zone  ? 

What  is  actually  going  on  on  the  Pacific  coast,  the  "  Chi- 
nook dialect "  in  Oregon  illustrates.  A  few  years  ago  that 
"  Chinook  dia-  dialect  was  in  full  play  as  an  infant  language 
lect"  by  itself.     It  was  originally  compounded  by 

members  and  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to 
facilitate  trade  with  the  Indians.  A  dictionary  of  it  has 
been  printed,  containing  about  twelve  hundred  words  made 
up  of  English,  French,  and  German,  with  a  sprinkling  of 
Indian  words.  Of  forty  tribes  of  Indians,  no  two  use  the 
same  language  ;  but  they  all  understand  "  Chinook." 

3.  Further  :  the  multitude  of  nations  represented  in  the 
emigration  to  this  country  also  fosters  the  growth  of  dia- 
The  variety  of  lects.  The  Dutch  settlers  in  Eastern  New 
immigrants.  York  were  from  the  first  hemmed  in  by 
strong  English  populations  ;  yet  they  have  left  an  impres- 
sion on  the  colloquial  language  of  that  region  which  lives 

to  this  day,  and  this  after  the  lapse  of  two 

New  York  State.     ,  ,  •      , 

hundred  years.  In  some  inland  villages  not 
far  from  the  Hudson  the  mixture  of  Dutch  and  English 
words  is  obvious.     It  is  not  long  since  persons  were  found 


PURITY  OF  STYLE  47 

there  who  spoke  Dutch  alone,  yet  were  natives  of  the  Em- 
pire State.  In  Oneida  County,  a  few  years  ago,  you  might 
have  travelled  for  miles,  and  heard  only  the  Welsh  lan- 
guage. 

If  a  few  Dutch  and  Welsh  immigrants  could  give  to  then 
languages  such  vitality  in  the  midst  of  a  thickly  settled 
English  State,  what  must  be  the  effect  produced  by  the 
thousands  of  Germans,  Swedes,  and  Norwegians,  in  the 
Northwestern  States  ?  These  have  newspapers  in  their 
native  tongues,  and  schools  in  which  those 

.        _,  ,       ,  The  Northwest. 

tongues  are  used.     Sometimes  even  the  laws 
of  the  State  have  to  be  printed  in  a  foreign  language.     In 
the  city  of  Chicago  the  gospel  is  preached  in  eight  different 
dialects  to-day. 

In  California  the  more  familiar  Spanish  terms  have  be- 
come ingrafted  on  our  English,  so  that  they  never  can  be 
detached  again.     Words  from  every  language 

.  ,  .  .         .       e  „.  .  California. 

on  the  earth  are  working  in,  from  Chinese  to 
Kanaka.  A  shoemaker  in  San  Francisco  was  asked  by  a 
customer,  "  Can  you  speak  English  ? "  and  he  replied,  un- 
hesitatingly, "  Si  Signor,  certainement  !  you  bet  !  ':  There 
were  three  languages  in  one  sentence  ;  and  the  good  man 
straightened  himself  up  with  a  look  of  proud  satisfaction  at 
the  thought  that  he  could  speak  English  like  a  native.  He 
was  an  Italian. 

The  effect  of  this  condition  of  things  must  subject  our 
language  to  a  very  severe  process  of  transition,  in  which 
dialects  will  be  almost  inevitable.  The  danger  is,  that  the 
language  will  be  seriously  weakened  for  the  high  purposes 
it  has  served  hitherto,  and  which  have  resulted  in  the  no- 
blest body  of  literature  in  the  world. 

Good  taste,  however,  does  not  favor  any  quixotic  enter- 
prise. Changes  cannot  be  wholly  prevented."  It  is  not  de- 
sirable that  they  should  be.  But  it  is  desirable  and  prac- 
ticable to  guard   the  old   English   of   scholars   and   public 


48  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

speakers  from  reckless  change,  from  ignorant  change,  from 
change  fostered  by  the  indolence  of  authors  and  the  coarse- 
The  way  to  guard  ness  of  readers.  Keep  the  old  English  lit- 
our  language.  erature  within  the  homely  language  of  the 
people,  as  it  is  now,  by  keeping  the  language  substan- 
tially what  it  is  now.  Do  not  allow  such  a  magnificent 
literature  to  become  obsolete  through  the  obsolescence  of 
the  tongue  in  which  it  is  now  treasured.  Think  of  it  ! 
Shall  an  American  a  hundred  years  hence  be  unable  to  read 
"  The  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  in  the  original?  Shall  an  Amer- 
ican child  then  need  a  glossary  to  decipher  the  present 
form  of  "  The  Lord's  Prayer,"  as  we  do  to  read  the  trans- 
lation of  it  by  Wickliffe  ?  It  would  be  a  catastrophe  to  all 
high  culture  and  to  Christianity  itself.  Yet  any  language 
will  die  out  thus,  if  authors  and  speakers  leave  it  unguarded 
to  drift  with  illiterate  and  vulgar  usage.  They  are  its  nat- 
ural conservators. 

II. — Why  Educated  People  Should  Use  Pure  English. 

Indispensable  to  thorough  and  refined  scholarship  is  a 
taste  for  a  pure  style.  Observe  critically  the  character  of 
educated  men,  and  you  will  find  that  their  genuine  culture 
.  ,.  ,  in  other  things  is  proportioned  to  their  taste 

An  essential  con-  &  '       l 

dition  of  genuine  for  good  English  in  their  public  speech. 
The  accuracy  of  a  man's  learning,  the  sound- 
ness of  his  philosophy,  the  trustworthiness  of  his  literary 
judgments,  the  value  of  his  opinions  of  books,  of  educa- 
tional enterprises  and  expedients,  and  the  general  symme- 
try of  his  culture,  may  be  graded  by  his  taste  for  pure 
English  in  his  own  use  of  language.  The  study  of  this 
quality  of  speech  lies  deeper  in  the  ground-work  of  culture 
than  at  the  first  view  it  appears  to  do.  Its  roots  run  into 
and  under  the  foundation  of  scholarship.  This  is  the  chief 
reason  why  so  large  a  space  is  given  here  to  its  discussion. 


PURITY  OF  STYLE  49 

It  is  not  because  purity  of  style  is  immediately  and  intrinsi- 
cally more  important  than  other  qualities,  but  that  it  lies 
at  the  basis  of  them  all. 

III. — Means  of  Acquiring  a  Pure  Style. 

The  only  remaining  topic  in  the  discussion  of  the  theme 
before  us  is  the  inquiry,  What  are  the  most  effective  means 
of  acquiring  a  pure  style  ?     These  relate  to  several  things. 

1.  One  of  these  is  our  habitual  conversation.  We  should 
distinguish  between  colloquial  usage  and  that  of  continu- 
ous discourse.  Conversation  tolerates  a  freedom  which  is 
not  authorized  in  discourse,  written  or  oral.  Habitual  conver- 
Colloquial  usage  admits  provincialisms,  con-  satlon. 
tractions,  even  imports  from  other  tongues,  more  freely 
than  the  usage  of  public  speech  or  of  authorship.  For  in- 
stance, a  scholarly  spirit  does  not  recoil  at  hearing,  in  the 
freedom  of  conversation,  such  contractions  as  "don't," 
"can't,"  "won't."  But,  when  Daniel  Webster  used  them 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  he  violated  the 

r         ,   .  ,  ,.  .  ,        Daniel  Webster. 

canons  of  cultivated  taste.  He  did  not  do 
it  in  the  earlier  and  more  vigorous  years  of  his  life.  His 
style  in  this,  and  in  some  other  respects,  deteriorated.  We 
often  say  of  a  man's  written  style,  that  it  needs  more  of 
the  colloquial  elements.  That  criticism  commonly  refers, 
not  to  vocabulary,  but  to  construction,  and  specially  to  the 
ease  and  flexibility  of  structure  which  conversation  creates 
more  readily  than  written  discourse. 

But  it  is  not_kt&tidtous  criticism  to  subject  even  conver- 
sation to  substantially  the  same  rules  respecting  a  pure 
vocabulary  by  which  we  form  the  diction  of  Pure  Entr]ish  in 
discourse.  Use  pure  English  in  common  common  talk, 
talk.  This  is  not  "talking  like  a  book."  It  is  using  in 
speech  the  best  elements  of  the  language — the  best  for 
clearness,  for  force,  for  elegance.  Observe  for  yourself  the 
4 


SO  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

conversation  of  the  best  class  of  educated  men  :  you  will 

detect  an   indefinable  charm    in    it,   which    is    due    almost 

wholly  to  its  selection  of  pure  words,  the  predominance  of 

Saxon  words,  the  avoidance  of  slang,  of  contractions,   of 

vulgarisms,  of  pedantic  importations.     The  colloquial  style 

of  Edward  Everett  by  the  hour  together  might  have  been 

transferred  to  print  without  an  omission  or  a  correction. 

So  might  that  of  Washington  Irving.    One  reason  why  they 

wrote  as  they  did,  in  pure  classic  English,  was  that  they 

talked  in  pure  classic  English.     The  habit  of  the  tongue 

became  the  habit  of  the  pen. 

An  educated  man  should  never  translate  educated  speech 

into  slang  facetiously.      A  man's  jests  may  be  a  cause,  as 

r  ,  well  as  a  sisrn,  of  literary  decline.     The  ma- 

Use  of  slang.  &    '  J 

jonty  of  men  of  culture  would  be  surprised 

to  discover  how  much  of  such  facetiousness  exists  among 
them,  and  how  insidious  its  influence  is  on  refinement  both 
of  thought  and  speech.  Some  conversationalists  seem  to 
know  no  other  way  of  giving  mother-wit  to  their  talk  than 
that  of  translating  pure  English  into  the  dialect  of  low  life. 
The  apology  for  it  is,  that  it  is  so  expressive.  But  so  is 
profaneness  expressive.  Vulgarity  in  all  forms  is  expres- 
sive. You  can  command  entranced  attention  in  the  pul- 
pit by  the  utterance  of  an  oath.  But  neither  is  a  neces- 
sity to  the  bold  and  manly  purposes  of  conversation.  The 
princes  in  colloquial  expression  employ  a  vocabulary  of 
which  the  most  fastidious  scholar  need  not  be  ashamed. 
The  most  forcible  elements  of  common  talk  are  its  purest 
elements. 

The  habit  of  ignoring  those  elements  in  favor  of  their 
vulgar  equivalents  is  degrading  to  a  man's  habits  of  think- 
Effectofthe  use  mS-  It  n^s  his  mind  with  coarse  expressions 
of  slang.  0f   energy;  and,    in    the    haste    of   dignified 

speech,  these  will  crowd  their  way  in,  to  the  displacement 
of  those  refined  forms  which  a  scholar's  taste  prefers,  and 


PURITY  OF  STYLE  5 1 

the  superiority  of  which  every  man  feels.  Such  forms  of 
vulgar  force,  once  rooted  in  a  speaker's  vocabulary,  may 
not  die  out  of  it  in  a  lifetime.  De  Quincey,  for  instance, 
must  first  have  allowed  his  colloquial  dialect  to  be  cor- 
rupted, before  he  could,  with  his  princely  command  of  lan- 
guage, have  indulged  himself  in  writing,  as  he  does,  of 
Greece  as  having  been  very  proud  of  having  "  licked  "  her 
enemy  "into  almighty  smash  ;  "  and  again,  of  Apollodorus 
as  being  "cock  of  the  walk."  An  author's  pen  does  not 
commit  such  crimes  against  the  mother-tongue  if  his  own 
tongue  has  not  first  been  guilty  of  degrading  colloquial 
liberty  into  colloquial  vulgarity. 

2.  A  pure  style  may  be  fostered  by  the  reading  of  classic 
English  authors.  The  most  lasting  influence  which  forms 
a  speaker's  style  is  commonly  that  of  the  au-  ,.       f  . 

thors  of  whom  he  is  most  fond.     The  influ-     sic  English  au- 

.,  ,    .  ,     .  thors. 

ence  is  a  silent  one,  and  its  growth  imper- 
ceptible ;  but  it  is  creative.  That  which  an  educated  man 
reads  with  most  profound  reverence  and  enjoyment  he  will 
most  nearly  resemble  in  the  end.  Delight  in  pure  English, 
and  you  will  compose  in  pure  English.  Let  your  tastes  be 
formed  upon  the  models  of  Addison,  David  Hume,  Words- 
worth, Macaulay,  Whately,  Washington  Irving,  Edward 
Everett,  Motley,  and  Prescott,  and  you  can  scarcely  fail  to 
write  and  speak  with  a  pure  vocabulary. 

On  the  other  hand,  read  with  scholarly  caution  authors 
who  by  reputation  are  indifferent  to  the  purity  of  their  lan- 
guage.    Do  not  accept  as  authorities  Cole-    .    . 

00  *  Authors  who  are 

ridge,  Carlyle,  Emerson.     Read  with  critical    to  be  read  with 

t,  c    1  ,1  critical  care. 

care  against  abuses  of  languages  those  au- 
thors whose  culture  has  been  chiefly  derived  from  German 
literature.  We  may  be  unable  to  assign  a  reason  for  it ;  but 
it  is  a  fact,  that  German  writers,  when  they  become  the 
favorites  of  an  American  speaker,  are  more  efficient  in  cor- 
rupting his  English  style  than  those  of  any  other  foreign 


52  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

tongue.  This,  probably,  was  the  chief  source  of  the  de- 
generacy of  Carlyle's  English.  It  is  reported  that  when  he 
began  his  literary  career,  before  German  studies  had  be- 
come ascendant  in  his  reading,  he  wrote  a  diction  not  at  all 
noticeable  for  unscholarly  features.  The  degradation  of  his 
style  to  the  most  monstrous  contortions  that  have  defaced 
any  modern  literature  of  equal  rank  seems  to  have  been 
consciously  and  voluntarily  invited  on  his  part,  by  the 
sacrifice  of  his  English  to  his  German  masters. 

3.  Purity  of  style  may  be  assisted  in  its  growth  by  a  dis- 
creet use  of  dictionaries,  grammars,  and  other  treatises 
Discreet  use  of  upon  language.  Robert  Hall  never  wrote 
dictionaries.  for  the  press  without  keeping  Johnson's  Dic- 
tionary open  before  him  for  reference.  Yet  he  might  have 
been  pardoned,  if  any  man  might,  for  writing  recklessly  ; 
for  he  probably  never  had  a  painless  waking  hour  in  his  life 
after  reaching  the  age  of  manhood.  He  lived  and  died  in 
extreme  neuralgic  suffering.  If  Carlyle  had  been  such  a 
sufferer  as  Hall  was,  one  might  pardon  his  style  for  howl- 
ing and  growling  in  outlandish  English. 

4.  Purity  of  style  may  obviously  be  cultivated  by  a 
scholarly  care  in  one's  own  habits  of  composing.  Never 
Scholarly  care  in  use  a  doubtful  word  without  investigation, 
composition.  Generally  give  the  preference  to  Saxon 
words.  A  Saxon  style  is  almost  certain  to  be  a  pure  style. 
Criticise  your  own  composition  after  the  excitement  of  the 
work  is  over.  By  directing  your  own  attention  consciously 
to  the  barbarisms  already  familiar  to  your  pen,  you  most 
easily  expel  them  from  your  use.  Write  also  with  the  as- 
sistance of  a  manuscript  catalogue  of  words  which  you  de- 
tect as  impure  or  doubtful  English  in  your  reading.  For 
convenience'  sake,  such  a  list  of  words  should  include  also 
those  which  are  violations  of  precision,  to  avoid  the  neces- 
sity of  constructing  two.  Words  obsolete,  words  obsoles- 
cent,   words   doubtful,    words    whose   structure    or    sense 


PURITY  OF  STYLE  53 

should  not  invite  their  introduction  to  the  language,  words 
not  precise  as  commonly  employed,  unauthorized  com- 
pounds, words  improperly  imported — these  and  similar  vio- 
lations of  good  style  may  be  accumulated  as  a  ready  guide 
to  one's  own  critical  taste.  Knowing  what  to  shun  is  the 
chief  thing  in  learning  what  to  use.  The  very  writing  of 
such  a  catalogue  will  of  itself  improve  one's  critical  taste. 
It  is  also  the  most  effective  method  of  keeping  one's  self 
informed  of  the  progress  of  the  language. 

ANALYSIS. 

PURITY   OF   STYLE   (CONCLUDED). 

I.  Why  American  Writers  and  Speakers  should  use  Pure  English. 

r.  Influence  of  the  Illiterate  in  this  Country. 

2.  The  Extent  of  Our  Country. 

3.  The  Variety  of  the  Immigrants. 

(a)  Foreigners  in  New  York  State. 

(b)  Foreigners  in  the  Northwest. 

(c)  Foreigners  in  California. 

II.  Why  Educated  People  should  use  Pure  English. 

III.  Means  of  Acquiring  Pure  English. 

1.  Habitual  Conversation. 

(a)  What  it  is  to  Use  pure  English  in  Common  Talk, 

(b)  Use  of  Slang. 

(c)  Effect  of  the  Use  of  Slang. 

2.  Reading  of  Classic  English  Authors. 

3.  A  Discreet  Use  of  Dictionaries,  Grammars,  and  Other  Treatises 

on  Language. 

4.  Scholarly  Care  in  Composition. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

PRECISION  OF  STYLE 

I. — Definition  of  Precision  of  Style. 

Precision  of  style — what  is  its  characteristic  idea? 
This  is  figuratively  suggested  by  its  etymology — -prcecido. 
To  eliminate  redundancies,  to  supply  deficiencies,  and  to 
remove  inaccuracies,  is  its  aim.  Precision,  then,  is  the 
synonym  of  exactness.  More  fully,  it  is  that  quality  by  which 
a  writer  s  style  expresses  no  more,  no  less,  and  no  other,  than  the 
thought  which  he  means  to  express. 

II. — Precision    Distinguished    from    Other    Qualities 

of  Style. 

Precision  needs  to  be  distinguished  from  certain  other 
qualities  which  it  resembles.  It  is  distinct  from  propriety 
Distinguished  °f  &ty\e.  Propriety,  as  we  have  seen,  relates 
from  propriety.  to  the  signification  of  language  as  fixed  by 
usage  :  precision  relates  to  the  signification  of  language  as 
demanded  by  the  thought  to  be  expressed.  Propriety  is 
satisfied  if  we  write  good  English  ;  precision  demands  such 
a  choice  of  good  English  as  shall  express  our  meaning. 

Precision  is  distinct,  also,  from  perspicuity  of  style.  Pre- 
cision, as  above  remarked,  is  satisfied  if  we  express  in  good 
Distinguished  English  our  thought,  no  more,  no  less,  no 
from  perspicuity,  other.  Perspicuity  requires  such  a  selection 
of  good  English  as  shall  make  our  thought  clear  to  the 
hearer.     The  thought  may  be  precisely  expressed,  yet  not 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  55 

be  understood  by  the  hearer.  It  may  be  clothed  in  unfa- 
miliar English,  yet  with  no  want  of  precision.  You  may 
soliloquize  your  thought  exactly  :  you  do  not  thereby  com- 
municate it  clearly.  Perspicuity  demands  an  adjustment 
of  style  to  the  capacity  and  culture  of  an  audience  ;  pre- 
cision, only  an  adjustment  of  it  to  the  thought  of  the 
speaker.  Profound  thinkers  are  not  necessarily  expert 
communicators.  Style,  then,  may  be  precise,  and  not  per- 
spicuous :  it  may  be  perspicuous,  and  not  precise.  Con- 
nection may  neutralize  the  want  of  precision.  It  may  be 
clear  that  a  speaker  means  what  he  does  not  say.  One 
may  not  always  easily  determine  at  what  point  the  want  of 
precision  passes  over  into  a  want  of  perspicuity.  That  de- 
pends on  the  quality  of  the  hearing. 

To  recapitulate  these  distinctions  :  propriety  requires 
only  good  English  ;  precision  requires  such  a  choice  of 
good  English  as  shall  express  the  speaker's  mind  ;  per- 
spicuity requires  such  a  choice  of  good  English  as  shall 
make  the  speaker's  mind  clear  to  the  hearer. 

III. — Violations  of  Precision. 

i.  One  class  of  offences  against  precision  concerns  the 
use  or  omission  of  single  words.  The  wrong  use  or  omis- 
sion of  a  word  sometimes  affects  grammati-  Omission  of 
cal  construction  to  the  injury  of  this  quality.  single  words. 
"  Certainly  I  nor  any  man  has  a  right,"  etc.,  thus  writes  De 
Quincey.  Ungrammatical  structure  here  is  occasioned  by 
the  omission  of  the  word  "  neither."  "  No  writer  was 
ever  guilty  of  so  much  false  and  absurd  criticism,"  thus 
writes  Macaulay  of  Sir  Horace  Walpole.  The  omission 
of  the  word  "  other  "  impairs  precision.  If  no  writer  was 
ever  thus  guilty,  then  Walpole  was  not  guilty.  But  Ma- 
caulay means  to  say  the  opposite.  Scores  of  instances  of 
this  offence  against  precision  are  found  in  Macaulay's  writ- 


$6  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

ings.  A  model  of  precision  as  he  is  in  other  respects,  he 
seems  never  to  have  observed  the  nice  requirement  of  our 
syntax  in  this. 

2.  The  word  " it"  is  often  so  used  or  omitted  as  to  injure 
exactness  of  expression.  William  Cobbett  says,  "  Never 
Wrong  use  or  Put  an  ' lt'  on  paper  without  thinking  what 
omission  of  it."  you  are  about."  Often  the  thing  needs  to  be 
expressed  to  which  the  impersonal  pronoun  refers.  Some- 
times the  demonstratives  "  this  "  or  "  that  "  need  to  be  sub- 
stituted for  "it."  Your  reading,  if  your  attention  is  di- 
rected to  the  fact,  will  disclose  to  you  the  enormous  amount 
of  material  which  this  word  is  made  to  carry  in  the  usage 
of  authors.  The  freedom  of  its  use  exposes  it  to  abuse. 
The  possessive  case  of  "  it  "  is  of  recent  origin  in  the  lan- 
guage. Our  English  translators  of  the  Bible  did  not  recog- 
nize it.  They  employed  "his"  for  "  its."  The  impersonal 
form  of  the  possessive  does  not  occur  except  by  interpola- 
tion.    It  was  not  common  in  King  James's  day. 

3.  A  wrong  choice  of  single  words  leads  often  to  the  loss 
of  precision  in  the  moods  and  tenses  of  verbs.     "  I  intended  to 

go,"  "I  had  intended  to  go,"  "I  intended  to 

Wrong  use  of  &    '  &    ' 

moods  and  tenses    have  gone  " — these  forms  express  different 
s"  shades    of   thought ;  yet    some    writers    use 

them  interchangeably.     De  Quincey  writes:  "With  the  ex- 
ception of  Wordsworth,  no  celebrated  writer  of  this  day  has 
written  a  hundred  pages  consecutively  with- 

De  Quincey.  _  ... 

out  some  flagrant  impropriety  of  grammar, 
such  as  the  eternal  confusion  of  the  preterite  with  the  past 
participle,  confusion  of  verbs  transitive  with  verbs  intran- 
sitive, or  some  violation  more  or  less  of  the  vernacular 
idiom."  This  is  an  extravagant  criticism,  but  it  indicates 
the  general  impression  left  by  a  voluminous  range  of  read- 
ing upon  one  of  the  keenest  of  modern  critics. 

One  of  the  permanent  questions  of  literary  criticism  is 
when  to  use  the  subjunctive  mood.      A  very  difficult  ques- 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  $J 

tion  it  is,  except  to  a  writer  whose  habit  of  critical  obser- 
vation has  been  disciplined  by  extensive  reading  of  the 
best  authors.     Hallam  says  that  the  use  of 

Hallam. 

misplaced  inflections  was  one  of  the  chief 
things  in  which  the  decadence  of  both  the  Greek  and  the 
Latin  languages  first  showed  itself.  Teachers  of  the  freed- 
men  of  our  own  country  find  the  similar  defect  one  of  the 
most  difficult  things  to  correct  in  the  negro  dialect.  In 
that  dialect  it  often  extends  to  the  connection  of  different 
verbs  utterly  without  sense,  as  in  the  phrase  "done  gone." 
A  singular  power  is  observable,  in  such  corruptions,  to 
migrate  from  one  language  to  another,  apparently  through 
the  national  blood.  Livingstone  found,  in  some  of  the 
African  dialects,  phrases  corresponding  to  this  "  done 
gone  "  in  the  patois  of  the  Southern  plantation. 

The  instinct  of  literary  taste  is  seldom,  if  ever,  sufficient 
to  guide  a  writer  in  the  use  of  the  verbal  moods  and  tenses. 
We  need  elaborate  study  of  them  with  gram-  Means  to  a  right 
mar  in  hand,  and  also  a  large  range  of  good  moJ^a^3,1 
reading  behind  to  determine  points  which  tenses, 
grammars  do  not  specifically  treat.  Think  on  these  topics 
with  the  pen  ;  write  down  errors  and  their  corrections,  and 
fix  thus  in  mind  the  underlying  philosophy  of  grammar. 
There  is  no  less  elaborate  method  by  which  one  can  become 
an  accomplished  scholar  in  English  idioms.  The  majority 
of  the  graduates  of  American  colleges  understand  the  Latin 
and  Greek  languages  more  philosophically  than  they  do  the 
English.  The  study  of  our  own  tongue  as  the  subject  of 
philosophical  analysis  is  a  modern  addition  to  our  collegiate 
curriculum.  One  expedient  which  facilitates  the  study  of 
it  is  to  study  the  English  verb  in  comparison  with  the 
Greek  verb. 

4.  This  suggests,  further,  that  the  wrong  use  or  omission 
of  connective  words  is  often  the  occasion  of  looseness  of 
style.     The  superior  precision  of  the  Greek  tongue  is  said, 


58  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

by  those  who  are    experts    in    teaching  it,    to  be    in   part 

due   to    the   abundance   of  connectives   in  its   vocabulary. 

For    some    of    its    connective    particles    our 

Wrong  use  or  ,  * 

omission  of  con-    language  has  no  equivalents  ;  yet  such  as  we 

have  serve  often  to  knit  one's  style  together 

in  exact  and  forcible  collocations.     Coleridge  says  that  a 

master  of  our  language  may  be  known  by  his  skilful  use 

of   connectives.     This  is  one  secret  of    the 

Coleridge.  . 

vigor  of  Coleridge  s  own  style.  His  pro- 
longed and  involuted  sentences  derive  from  this  source 
often  a  wonderful  continuity,  without  which  his  profound 
conceptions  could  not  find  adequate  expression.  In  order 
to  represent  some  thoughts,  style  needs  a  certain  sweep  of 
sustained  expression,  like  the  sailing  of  an  eagle  on  wings 
of  scarcely  visible  vibration.  Such,  often,  is  Coleridge's 
style  ;  and  his  command  of  it  is  often  due  to  his  precise  use 
of  connective  words.  It  is  still  more  abundantly  and 
grandly  illustrated  in   the  prose  style  of  Milton.     Hence 

arises  the  independence  of  both  of  fragmen- 
Milton.  .  ,  .      .  °       . 

tary  expression  such  as  the  majority  of  writ- 
ers would  think  to  be  all  that  some  thoughts  admit  of  in 
human  speech.  Hence  their  freedom  from  that  which 
Southey  calls  the  "  Anglo-Gallican  style,  whose  cementless 
periods  are  understood  beforehand,  they  are  so  free  from 
all  the  connections  of  logic."  Dr.  Arnold,  speaking  of  this 
feature  in  the  thinking  of  Coleridge,  says  that  he  would 
have  been  more  perfectly  understood  if  he  had  written  in 
classic  Greek. 

This  which  I  have  termed  the  "  involuted  style"  is  essen- 
tial to  the  loftiest  flights  of  eloquence  in  oral  address.  No 
The  "  involuted  man  can  be  supremely  eloquent  in  laconics. 
style-"  You  cannot  express  the  rising  and   the  ex- 

panding and  the  sweep,  and  the  circling  of  eloquent  thought 
borne  up  on  eloquent  feeling,  in  a  style  resembling  that 
which  seamen  call  "  a  chopping  sea."     For  such  thinking, 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  59 

you  must  have  at  command  a  style  of  which  an  oceanic 
ground-swell,  or  the  Gothic  interweaving  of  forest-trees,  is 
the  more  becoming  symbol.  You  must  have  long  sen- 
tences, euphonious  sentences,  sentences  which  invite  a  ro- 
tund and  lofty  delivery.  This  diction  is  often  censured  by 
critics  as  "  fine  writing."  But  you  must  have  such  a  style 
for  the  most  exact  utterance  of  certain  elevated  and  im- 
passioned thoughts.  Yet,  in  the  construction  of  such  a 
style,  you  must  use  connective  words — links  elaborately 
forged,  inserted  in  the  right  joints  of  style,  to  make  them 
flexible  without  loss  of  compactness.  One  word  of  such  ex- 
act connective  force  in  the  right  place,  with  the  right  sur- 
roundings before  and  after,  may  make  all  the  difference 
between  a  disjointed  and  a  linked  style. 

ANALYSIS. 

PRECISION   OF   STYLE. 

I.  Definition. 

II.  Precision  Distinguished  from  other  Qualities  of  Style. 

(a)  From  Propriety. 

(b)  From  Perspicuity. 

III.  Violations  of  Precision. 

1.  Omission  of  Single  Words. 

2.  Wrong  Use  or  Omission  of  It. 

3.  Wrong  Use  of  Moods  and  Tenses  of  Verbs. 

(a)  Statement  of  De  Quincey. 

(b)  The  Subjunctive  Mood. 

(c)  Means  to  a  Right  Use  of  Verbal  Moods  and  Tenses. 

4.  Wrong  Use  of  Connective  Words. 

(a)  Remark  of  Coleridge. 

(b)  The  Prose  Style  of  Milton. 

(c)  The  "  Involuted  Style." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PRECISION  OF  STYLE  (CONTINUED) 

I. Violations    of    Precision    in    the    Use    of    Single 

Words. 

Another  class  of  offences  against  precision  concerns  the 
literal  and  the  figurative  uses  of  the  same  words.  The 
The  literal  and      style  of  oral  address  naturally  multiplies  the 

the  figurative         fio-urative    uses   of   words.      There  is  some- 
use  of  the  same         *» 
word.  thing  in  the  correspondence  of  eyes  between 

a  speaker  and  his  hearers,  which  prompts  the  use  of  picto- 
rial language  with  a  freedom  not  so  natural  to  the  style  of 
books.  The  magnetism  of  vision  invites  a  speaker  to  paint 
his  thought  to  the  waiting  and  eager  eyes  before  him. 
Good  hearers  are  always  good  spectators.  No  man  hears 
perfectly  with  his  eyes  shut. 

The  connection,  whether  in  oral  or  written  address,  does 
not  always  determine  which  of  the  two  uses  of  a  word,  the 
literal  and  the  figurative,  an  author  means.  What,  for  in- 
stance, does  Aristotle  mean  when  he  speaks  of  a  "  perfect 
thief"?— a  sinless  thief,  on  the  principle  of  Spartan  ethics, 
which  made  the  wrong  of  theft  consist  in  its  detection  ?  or 
a  thief  perfectly  trained  in  the  arts  of  his  trade  ?  What 
does  a  celebrated  English  physician  mean,  when  he  de- 
scribes a  "  beautiful  ulcer  "  ? 

2.  Excessive  figure  in  style  obviously  exposes  it  to  a  loss 
of  precision.  The  style  of  some  writers  is  a  winged 
Excessive  use  of  chariot  ;  it  bears  up  everything  into  the  air, 
figure  in  style.  soaring  on  a  figurative  vocabulary.  A 
reader  often  doubts  how  much  is  figurative,  and  how  much 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  6 1 

literal.  Something  must  be  literal  in  any  sensible  style. 
Good  sense  must  have  literal  expression  ;  it  must  often  be 
pedestrian.  What  is  the  literal  conception  is  often  the 
vexed  question.  The  style  of  Ruskin  abounds  with  illus- 
trations of  this.  Turn  to  one  of  his  pages,  and  you  will 
find  a  description  of  the  flowing   of   a  brook 

il  /-.  11  i      1-r       i  •  Ruskin. 

in  summer  :  Cressed  brook,  lifted,  even  in 
flood,  scarcely  over  its  stepping-stones,  but  through  all 
sweet  summer  keeping  tremulous  music  with  harp-strings 
of  dark  water  among  the  silver  fingering  of  the  pebbles." 
A  precise  reader,  accustomed  to  look  for  exact  ideas,  will 
read  this  a  second  time,  and  perhaps  not  even  then  discern 
its  meaning. 

II. — Violations  of  Precision  in  Confounding  Synonyms. 

i.  Another  class  of  offenses  against  precision  of  style 
consists  of  synonyms  confounded.  The  composite  struct- 
ure of  our  language  has  multiplied  syn-  The  Saxon  and 
onyms  immensely.  The  two  great  branches  the  Norman, 
of  the  language,  the  Saxon  and  the  Norman,  have  spe- 
cially wrought  this  result.  To  illustrate  the  extent  to 
which  these  heterogeneous  elements  have  accumulated  syn- 
onyms, let  a  single  example  be  given,  which  I  take,  in  part, 
from  Trench.  We  have  the  words  "trick,"  "device," 
"finesse,"    "artifice,"    "ruse,"  "stratagem," 

Trench 

"  maneuver,"  "  wile,"  "  intrigue,"  "fraud  "— 
at  least  ten  words  to  express  a  group  of  ideas  all  having  a 
common  centre.  These  words  are  contributions  from  five 
different  stocks  of  language.  "Trick"  and  "wile"  are 
Saxon  ;  "device  "  and  "  intrigue  "  are  Italian  ;  "  finesse," 
"  maneuver,"  "  ruse,"  and  "  intrigue"  also  are  French  ;  "  arti- 
fice "  and  "fraud  "are  Latin;  and  "  stratagem  "  is  Greek. 
We  have  more  than  thirty  words  to  express  different  varie- 
ties  of    the   single   passion  of   anger.     It    is   obvious  at  a 


62  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

glance,  that,  in  this  multitude  of  synonyms,  our  language 
presents  great  facilities  for  looseness  of  diction. 

2.  Some  writers  are  deceived  by  the  similarity  in  the 
orthography  of  certain  words.  Such  words  as  "  ingenu- 
Words  con-  ous  "  antl  "  ingenious,"  •"  guile  "  and  "guilt," 
founded  by  sim-     u  fictiti0us  "  and  "  factitious,"  "  genius  "  and 

llanty  of  orthog-  '         & 

raphy.  "  genus,"    "  human  "   and    "  humane,"    "  de- 

preciate "  and  "  deprecate,"  "  extenuate  "  and  "  attenuate," 
"  subtle  "  and  "  subtile,"  "  imperative  "  and  "  imperious," 
"healthy"  and  "healthful,"  "impassable"  and  "impas- 
sible," "  conjure  "  and  "  conjure,"  are  often  confounded.  A 
store-keeper  gives  notice  in  his  window,  "  Umbrellas  re- 
covered here."  What  does  he  mean  ? — "  recovered  "  or 
"  re-covered  "  ?  The  two  words  "  healthy  "  and  "  health- 
ful "  are  so  frequently  interchanged,  that  our  dictionaries 
define  them,  in  part,  as  if  they  were  exact  synonyms  ; 
which  they  are  not.  The  best  usage  of  authors  expresses 
by  one  of  them  the  state  of  health,  and  by  the  other  the 
Healthy  and  act  °^  producing  health.     "Health  "  is  "not 

healthful.  diseased  :  "  "  healthful  "   is  "  tending  to  pro- 

mote health."  The  physician  implied  precise  English, 
when,  to  the  inquiry  whether  oysters  were  "  healthy  "  at 
certain  seasons,  he  replied,  "  I  have  never  heard  one  com- 
plain of  an  ache  or  an  ail."  The  distinction  between  these 
two  words  is  parallel  to  that  of  a  large  group  of  words  in 
our  vocabulary,  by  which  we  distinguish  between  a  con- 
dition, and  a  tendency  to  produce  it.  A  man  advertises  the 
The  "  Under-  patent  for  a  proprietary  medicine  for  sale  and 
taker."  observes,  "It  can  be  made  very  profitable  to 

the  under  taker."  Here  the  confounding  of  the  general  with 
the  technical  meanings  of  the  last  word,  through  sameness 
of  orthography,  gives  a  very  dubious  commendation  to  the 
drug. 

3.  The  use  and  the  neglect  of  the  etymology  of  words  are 
often  the  occasion  of  a  loss  of  precision.     "  Sympathy  "  and 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  6$ 

"  pity  "  are  confounded  by  neglect  of  etymology.     2w-7ra#o9, 
the  root  of  the  word  "  sympathy,"  indicates    words  con- 
a  much  finer  feeling  than  that  of  pity.     On    £^of  "£"*" 
the  other  hand,  more  often  still,  adherence    ogy. 
to  the  etymological  sense  of  a  word  when  that  sense  has 
become  obsolete,  impairs  precision. 

Command  of  the  etymological  senses  of  words  is  a  rare 
gift,  often  as  valuable  as  it  is  rare.  Sometimes  the  etymo- 
logical idea  in  a  word  is  so  remote  from  its 

i  •  r   •  Choate. 

real  meaning,  that  the  use  of  it  amounts  to 
an  original  figure,  as  when  Mr.  Choate  in  speaking  of  a  dis- 
appointed candidate  for  office,  said,  "  The  convention  ejacu- 
lated him  out  of    the  window."     This   latent   force,  which 
always  lies   in   the   etymology  of  words,  tempts  writers  of 
classic   training  to  resort   to   it,   to  the  loss  of   precision. 
Thus  Bishop  Lowth  writes,  "The  Emperor  Julian  very  ju- 
diciously planned    the    overthrow    of   Christianity."     Paley 
speaks  of  the  "judiciousness  of  God."     Guizot  writes  of 
the  "  duplicity  "  of  certain  of  Shakespeare's       Pa]e    Guizot 
plays,    meaning    only    their   dual    structure.        Bancroft,  De 
Bancroft  writes  of  the  "versatility"  of  the 
English  government,  meaning  its   fickleness.     De  Quincey 
speaks   of   "chastity,"    meaning  " chasteness,"  "of  taste." 
He  speaks  also  of  a   "  licentious  "  style  when  he  means  a 
style  rhetorically  loose. 

In  all  these  cases  the  obsolete  etymological  significations 
are  recalled,  and  allowed  to  displace  the  later  usage.  If  a 
writer  so  keen  of  eye  as  De  Quincey  can  commit  this  error, 
more  feeble  or  less  practised  writers  must  be  in  constant 
peril  of  saying  what  they  do  not  mean.  No  other  quality  of 
a  good  style  demands  such  incessant  care  as  this  of  precis- 
ion. One's  mind  must  be  wide-awake,  and  always  awake, 
in  its  choice  of  vocabulary. 


64  RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


III. — Violations  of  Precision  by  Defect  in  the  Num- 
ber of  Words. 

Not  single  words  only  may  impair  precision,  but  it  is 
often  sacrificed  by  defect  respecting  the  number  of  words 
employed.  Two  forms  of  error  in  this  respect  lie  opposite 
to  each  other. 

i.  One  is  the  sacrifice  of  precision  through  excess  of  con- 
ciseness. In  the  manufacture  of  bullets,  one  part  of  the 
An  excessive  process  is  that  of  compressing  the  bulk  of 

conciseness.  tjie  metal  without  lessening  its  weight.     By 

this  means  is  gained  increase  of  momentum  in  the  dis- 
charge. This  is  a  pertinent  emblem  of  genuine  conciseness 
in  style.  Only  that  is  true  conciseness  which  compacts 
thought  without  loss  to  the  exactness  of  its  expression. 
Precision  is  impaired  if  words  are  not  numerous  enough  to 
express  the  whole  thought. 

Writers  who  affect  conciseness  inevitably  commit  this 
error.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  is  often  guilty  of  it,  through 
the  affectation  of  laconic  style.  Dr.  South  is  not  always 
free  from  it.  The  different  degrees  of  comparison  are 
often  expressed  with  deficiency  of  words.  "  As  many  and 
even  more  hearers  were  assembled  than  before."  What  is 
the  defect  here  ?  The  writer  should  have  said,  by  some 
reconstruction,  "As  many  as,  and  even  more  than,"  etc. 
The  inflections  of  verbs,  also,  are  often  put  into  excessively 
concise  forms.  "  Men  always  have  and  always  will  reject 
the  doctrine  of  fatalism."  What  is  the  error  ?  The  form 
should  have  been,  "  Men  always  have  rejected,  and  always 
will  reject,"  etc.  The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Sears,  writing  of  a 
certain  rule  in  German  grammar,  says,  "  If  this  rule  were 
established  in  all  languages,  this  subject  would  be  attended 
with  fewer  difficulties  than  it  actually  is."  He  should  have 
said,  "than  it  actually  is  attended  with." 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  65 

2.  Some  errors  of  this  class  arise  from  hopeless  blunder- 
ing. Says  an  editor,  who  still  survives  the  achievement, 
"  Chaffee's  majority  was  thirteen  hundred  Hopeless  blun- 
and  ninety-two— just  one  hundred  less  than  dering. 
Christopher  Columbus  discovered  America."  A  bridge  in 
Denver,  a  few  years  ago,  contained  this  record  of  municipal 
law  :  "  No  vehicle  drawn  by  more  than  one  horse  is  al- 
lowed to  cross  this  bridge  in  opposite  directions  at  the 
same  time."  The  civil  code  of  California  once  contained 
this  statute  :  "  All  marriages  of  white  persons  and  negroes 
and  mulattoes  are  illegal  and  void."  Who  were,  then,  the 
legally  married  people  of  California  ?  None  but  the  Indians 
and  Chinese.  Such  errors,  or  their  equals  in  blundering  ex- 
pression, will  occur  in  every  writer's  first  thoughts  of  con- 
struction in  composing,  and  will  be  paralleled  in  his  written 
style  if  he  trusts  implicitly  to  first  thoughts.  They  suggest 
a  good  general  rule,  that  we  should  not  shrink  from  repeti- 
tion of  words  if  that  is  necessary  to  precision.  The  ele- 
gance of  a  precise  style  is  often  disclosed  where  the  preci- 
sion is  gained  by  repetition.  Macaulay's  writings  abound 
with  illustrations. 

3.  Precision  may  be  sacrificed,  not  only  by  excessive  con- 
ciseness, but  by  its  opposite — a  redundance  in  the  number 
of  words.  Writers — and,  still  more,  speakers  An  excessive  re- 
— are  exposed  to  this  error,  who  have  at  dundancy. 
command  a  diffuse  vocabulary.  A  voluminous  vocabulary 
by  no  means  insures  a  full  expression.  One  to  whom 
thought  comes  in  a  volume  of  words  may  express  more,  he 
may  express  less,  he  may  express  other,  than  his  real  mean- 
ing. He  to  whom  words  occur  with  difficulty  is  the  more 
apt  to  have  a  studied  expression,  and  therefore  an  exact  ex- 
pression. 

Looseness  from  redundance  is  specially  apt  to  occur  in 
speaking  on  difficult  themes  to  the  popular  mind.     Under 
such  conditions,  one  is  apt  to  explain,  to  qualify,  to  repeat, 
5 


66  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

to  speak  in  circumlocutory  phrase,  to  experiment  with  va- 
riations. These  easily  overwhelm  the  thought  with  words. 
Redundancy  in  One  then  loses  precision  in  the  effort  to  be 
popular  address,  perspicuous.  Style  moves  aslant  and  askew 
in  the  struggle  to  move  at  all.  Sometimes  the  very  strug- 
gle to  be  precise — the  mind,  in  the  very  act  of  composing, 
being  intent  on  precision — may  defeat  itself.  Here,  again, 
thought  is  overborne  by  the  machinery  employed  to  give 
it  utterance.  Writers  who  pride  themselves  on  philosophi- 
cal accuracy  are  apt  to  multiply  qualifications,  and  cir- 
Phiiosophicai  cumstantial  incidents,  and  secondary  clauses, 
accuracy.  an(j  parenthetical  inclosures,  so  that  no  pos- 

sible error  shall  be  affirmed  ;  but  that  very  strain  after  accu- 
racy defeats  its  aim  through  the  mere  expansion  of  bulk  and 
involution  of  connections.  When  a  dozen  words  might  have 
been  understood,  a  dozen  dozen  may  fall  dead  on  the  ear. 

Edmund  Burke  sometimes  illustrates  this.  In  one  of  his 
elaborated  sentences  you  will  sometimes  find  words  and 
clauses  selected  and  multiplied  and  arranged 
and  compacted  and  qualified  and  defined  and 
repeated,  for  the  very  purpose  of  extending  and  limiting 
the  truth  to  its  exact  and  undoubted  measure.  He  obvi- 
ously labors  to  say  just  what  he  means,  no  more,  no  less, 
no  other.  Still,  on  the  whole,  he  fails,  because  he  is  so 
elaborately  precise  in  details.  The  thought  is  suffocated 
by  the  multitude  of  words  employed  to  give  it  life.  It  is 
buried  alive.  To  change  the  figure,  you  can  divide  and 
subdivide  a  field  into  so  many,  so  small,  so  regular,  and  so 
exact  patches,  that  the  chief  impression  it  shall  leave  on 
your  eye  is  that  of  the  fences.  Similar  is  the  impression  of 
an  excessively  precise  style. 

Such  a  style  is  peculiarly  inapt  to  oral  delivery.  That 
Excessive  precision  which  gives  a  dim  idea  to  the  reader  may 
in  oral  delivery.  gjve  none  to  the  hearer.  A  style  which 
must  be  critically  analyzed  to  discover  its  contents  has  no 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  6"J 

chance  in  the  rapidity  of  oral  speech.  Beginning,  it  may 
be,  with  a  defect  in  precision,  it  ends  with  a  defect  in 
perspicuity. 

4.  Precision  may  be  sacrificed  further  by  looseness  of 
construction.  This  class  of  errors  runs  parallel  to  a  similar 
class,  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  con-  Looseness  of 
sider  in  the  study  of  perspicuity  of  style.  construction. 
The  difference  between  the  two  is  only  a  difference  of 
degree.  The  same  peculiarity  of  construction  which  in 
one  degree  of  it  is  an  example  of  looseness,  in  a  greater 
degree  becomes  an  example  of  obscurity.  To  avoid  rep- 
etition, therefore,  illustrations  of  these  offences  are  deferred 
till  we  are  led  to  recall  this  construction  in  our  discussion 
of  the  corresponding  class,  on  the  subject  of  perspicuity. 

ANALYSIS. 

PRECISION   OF   STYLE  (CONTINUED). 

I.  Violations  of  Precision  in  the  Use  of  Single  Words. 

1.  Literal  and  Figurative  Use  of  the  Same  Word. 

2.  Excessive  Use  of  Figure  in  Style. 

II.  Violations  of  Precision  in  Confounding  Synonyms. 

1.  The  Saxon  and  the  Norman  in  our  Language. 

(a)  Example  from  Trench. 

2.  Certain  Words  Confounded  by  Similarity  of  Orthography. 

3.  Certain  Words  Confounded  by  Neglect  of  Etymology. 

(a)  Use  of  Words  by  Choate,   Paley,  Guizot,  Bancroft  and 
De  Quincey. 

III.  Violations  of  Precision  by  Defect  in  the  Number  of  Words. 

1.  An  Excessive  Conciseness. 

2.  Hopeless  Blundering. 

3.  An  Excessive  Redundancy. 

(a)  Redundancy  in  Popular  Address. 

(b)  Writers  of  Philosophical  Accuracy. 

(c)  Some  of  Burke's  Sentences. 

4.  Looseness  of  Construction. 


CHAPTER    IX 

PRECISION  OF  STYLE  (CONTINUED) 

The  violations  of  precision  in  style  which  we  have  con- 
sidered, we  may  assume  to  be  of  such  significance  as  to 
give  importance  to  a  third  general  inquiry,  to  which  we 
now  proceed  ;  viz.,  what  are  the  chief  causes  of  a  loose 
style  ? 

I. — Chief  Causes  of  a  Loose  Style. 

i.  Of  these,  the  first  and  chief  is  the  habit  of  indiscrimi- 
nate thinking.  Other  causes  will  give  way  to  time  if  this 
Indiscriminate  one  be  entirely  removed.  Let  a  speaker 
thinking.  habitually  think  with  exactness,  and  a  pre- 

cise style  will  be  at  last  inevitable.  The  power  will  grow 
to  meet  the  demand  of  the  thinking  mind.  Such  is  the 
subjective  relation  of  language  to  thought,  that  the  mental 
force  which  originates  exact  thinking  will  at  length  com- 
mand exact  expression. 

Coleridge  lets  us  into  the  secret  of  much  which  is  called 
study,  and  is  not  such,  when,  in  a  letter  to  Wordsworth,  he 
complains  that  he  loses  so  much  of  his  time 
in  "leaning  back  in  his  chair,  and  looking  up 
to  the  ceiling,  in  the  bodily  act  of  contracting  the  muscles 
of  the  brows  and  the  forehead,  and  unconsciously  attending 
to  the  sensation." 

Be  it  remembered,  then,  that  the  foundation  of  precision, 
as  of  all  other  qualities  of  masterly  discourse,  lies  in  one's 
The  foundation  habits  of  thinking  ;  not  in  one's  thoughts  on 
of  precision.  a   given   subject   alone,  but   in   one's  mental 

habits.     Style,  like  character,  is  the  mirror  of  habits.     The 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  69 

thing  needed  is  that,  which,  in  painting,  Ruskin  calls  the 
"power  of  mental  grasp."  This,  he  says,  "  implies  strange 
and  sublime  qualities  of  mind."  It  is  a  power  which  must 
be  elaborately  gained — gained  by  thinking  on  difficult 
themes,  by  cultivating  mastery  of  such  themes,  till  they 
become  the  easy  and  natural  subjects  of  one's  daily  medita- 
tions, and  the  joy  of  one's  mental  life. 

2.  A  second  cause  of  the  formation  of  a  loose  style  is  the 
indulgence    of   excessive    care   for    expression    as  distinct 

from  thought.       A  writer  is  often  anxious,  not         Excessive  care 

so  much  to  say  somewhat  as  to  say  it  some-  for  expression. 
how.  Most  of  the  faults  of  a  juvenile  style  result  from  this 
cause.  Diffuseness,  repetition,  bombast,  result  inevitably 
from  the  study  of  expression  as  distinct  from  thought. 
The  temptation  is  constant  to  abandon  the  precise  word, 
known  to  be  the  precise  word,  felt  to  be  the  only  precise 
word,  and  to  go  roving  for  a  substitute  which  may  have 
every  quality  but  the  necessary  one  of  saying  what  is  meant. 
Watch  the  growth  of  an  emphatic  sentence    _. 

0  1  he     growth     of 

in  your  own  mind.  Do  you  never  find  your  an  emphatic  sen- 
tentative  efforts  to  frame  it  following  the 
lead  of  a  favorite  turn  of  expression,  which  is  not  the 
lead  of  your  thought  ?  Have  you  never  chosen  a  word 
which  you  were  conscious  did  not,  so  well  as  another,  ex- 
press your  meaning,  yet  chosen  it  because  it  was  a  novel 
word,  or  an  odd  word,  or  a  strong  word,  or  a  euphonious 
word,  or  an  archaic  word  ?  Yet  that  is  mannerism  in  style. 
It  is  not  honest  work. 

The  most  offensive  variety  of  the  error  in  question  arises 
from  a  morbid  -fancy  for  some  one  quality  of  style.  Often 
this  form  of  the  defect  becomes  a  servile  Servile  imita- 
imitation.  An  illustrious  author  who  has  a  tlon' 
marked  individuality  in  his  style  is  very  apt  to  have  a  crowd 
of  imitators.  That  which  is  original  to  him  is  copy  to  them. 
Their  own  individuality  is  sacrificed  to  his. 


JO  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

In  this   way,  at  one  period  arose  a  "  Chalmerian  "  style, 

and  again   a  "  Johnsonian  "  style,  and  another,  which  one 

critic  has  labelled  as  "  Carlylese."     Even  so  manly  a  man 

as  Robert  Hall  confesses  to  having  fallen  in  early  life  into 

subjection  to  the   Johnsonian  dialect.      His 

Robert  Hall.  ...  ,     ,  .  ,.     .„  .   .  , 

criticism  of  himself  illustrates  with  what 
scorn  a  robust  mind  will  fling  off  such  a  mask  as  soon  as  it 
discovers  that  there  is  a  mask.  He  says  of  himself,  "  I  aped 
Johnson,  I  preached  Johnson.  It  was  a  youthful  folly,  a 
very  great  folly.  I  might  as  well  have  attempted  to  dance 
a  hornpipe  in  the  dress  of  Gog  and  Magog.  My  puny 
thoughts  could  not  sustain  the  load  of  words  in  which  I 
tried  to  clothe  them." 

The  first  lesson  to  be  learned  by  a  young  writer,  yet 
often  the  last  that  is  learned,  is,  that  expression  is  to 
thought  what  countenance  is  to  character.  The  one  cannot 
exist  without  the  other.  Thought  is  the  fixture  ;  expres- 
sion should  be  fluid  in  its  capacity  to  adapt  itself  to  the 
Hugh  Miller  and  configuration  of  the  thought.  Hugh  Miller 
Cow-per.  gives  a  hint  of  the  truth  in  his  criticism  of 

the  poet  Cowper.  He  says,  "  Cowper  possessed,  above  all 
other  modern  poets,  the  power  of  bending  the  most  stub- 
born and  intractable  words  in  the  language  around  his 
thinking,  so  as  to  fit  its  every  indentation  and  irregularity  of 
outline,  as  a  ship-carpenter  adjusts  the  planking,  grown 
flexible  in  his  hand,  to  the  exact  mould  of  his  vessel." 

3.  Precision  often  suffers  from  another  cause,  which  is 

not  peculiar  to  this  quality,  but  affects  others  as  well.     It  is 

the  want  of  a  command  of  language.     This 

Want  of  a  com-  °      ° 

mandoflan-  may    result   either  from    natural  defect,  or 

from  the  want  of  studious  practice  in  the  use 
of  the  language.  A  speaker  cannot  express  his  thought  if 
he  cannot  command  the  requisite  vocabulary. 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  J I 


II. — Means  of  Acquiring  a  Command  of  Language. 

How  can  the  want  of  a  command  of  language  be  reme- 
died ?  The  inquiry  is  pertinent  to  all  the  qualities  of  a  good 
style,  though  especially  so  to  the  one  before  us. 

i.  In  the  first  place,  be  it  observed  with  emphasis,  that 
command  of  language  is  not  attainable  by  the  mere  accu- 
mulation of  words  in  a  ready  memory.     Vo- 

Power  to  select 

cabulary  alone  may  stifle  thought.  A  true  and  to  reject 
command  of  language  consists  in  a  command 
of  the  forces  of  expression  which  the  language  carries.  With 
emphasis,  it  is  a  command  of  language.  It  consists  in  the 
power  of  selection  and  rejection,  rather  than  in  that  of  ac- 
cumulation. It  is  the  power  to  use  and  to  lay  the  spirits,  as 
well  as  to  summon  them.  Command  of  words,  and  command 
of  the  linguistic  forces,  are  by  no  means  one  thing.  Words 
come  in  troops  at  the  bidding  of  one  man  :  they  fall  into 
rank  at  the  bidding  of  another. 

These  two  varieties  of  power  are  illustrated  in  the  styles 
of  Daniel  Webster  and  Rufus  Choate.  Both  were  powerful 
speakers  :  but  Webster  was  the  superior,  be-     ^    .  ,  ,„  . 

f  '  .  Daniel  Webster 

cause    of    his    superior    power   of    selection,     and  Rufus 

Choate 

Much  as  one  is  dazzled  by  Choate's  marvel- 
lous command  of  vocabulary,  still  one  cannot  avoid  thinking 
of  his  style  in  the  reading.  That  always  indicates  a  defect. 
An  absolutely  perfect  style  attracts  no  attention  to  itself. 
Criticism  of  it  is  an  after-thought.  Members  of  the  Boston 
bar  all  alike  yielded  to  the  spell  of  Choate's  rhetoric  ;  yet, 
in  the  very  act  of  admiring,  they  found  leisure  to  note  that 
he  "drove  the  substantive  and  six,"  alluding  to  the  multi- 
tude of  adjectives  which  he  harnessed  to  a  noun.  Men 
with  tears  coursing  down  their  cheeks,  in  listening  to  his 
sonorous  periods  in  his  eulogy  upon  Webster  yet  slily  made 
a  memorandum  that  they  would  count  the  words  in  some 


J 2  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

of  those  periods  when  they  should  be  printed,  and  after- 
ward remarked,  that  one  of  them  was  the  longest  but 
one  in  the  English  language.  Who  ever  heard  of  any  such 
arithmetical  criticism  of  Webster's  reply  to  Hayne  of  South 
Carolina  ?  When  Choate  spoke,  men  said,  "  What  a  marvel- 
lous style  !  How  beautiful !  how  grand  !  how  immense  his 
vocabulary  !  how  intricate  his  combinations  !  how  adroit 
his  sway  over  the  mother-tongue  !  "  When  Webster  spoke, 
men  said,  "  He  will  gain  his  case."  Webster's  vocabulary  was 
much  more  limited  than  that  of  Choate,  but  he  had  a  much 
sterner  power  of  selection  and  rejection.  His  command  of 
language  was  like  Darwin's  law  of  species  in  the  struggle 
for  existence — only  that  lived  which  deserved  to  live. 

2.  The  most  effective,  indeed,  the  only  effective  means 
of  obtaining  command  of  the  forces  of  expression  which 
Critical  study  and  the  language  contains,  is  the  persistent  union 
use  of  language.  0f  a  critical  study  of  the  language  with  its 
critical  use.  Language  needs  to  be  searched.  Words  need 
to  be  weighed.  Then  use  must  make  them  familiar  and 
ready  to  the  pen  or  tongue.  In  oral  delivery,  words  vary 
in  their  momentum.  We  need  to  graduate  their  movement 
by  unconscious  thought  which  shall  guide  selection  to  the 
purpose.  A  speaker  makes  a  great  acquisition  when  he 
adds  to  his  practicable  vocabulary  one  new  word  of  which 
he  has  entire  mastery.  Mastery  of  a  word  means  more 
than  is  commonly  understood  by  it  :  it  includes  knowledge 
of  all  the  shades  of  thought  which  good  use  attaches  to  the 
definition  of  a  word.  Look  at  Noah  Webster's  definitions 
of  standard  words.  Are  you  never  surprised,  as  by  a  dis- 
covery, at  the  secondary  senses  of  a  word  which  you 
thought  you  knew  by  heart  ?  Do  we  not  all  know  some- 
thins;  of    the   experience   of  which    Maurice 

Maurice. 

speaks,  when  he  says  that  "  a  light  flashes 
out  of  a  word  sometimes  which  frightens  one.  If  it  is  a 
common  word     .     .     .     one  wonders  how  one  has  dared  to 


PRECISION   OF  STYLE  73 

use  it  so  frequently  and  so  carelessly,  when  there  were  such 
meanings  hidden  in  it." 

3.  Command  of  a  word  implies  also  knowledge  of  its 
synonyms.  Words  have  a  science  corresponding  to  that  of 
comparative    anatomy.     No    man    knows    a 

Knowledge  of 

word  all  around,  till  he  knows  in  what  and  the  synonyms 
why  it  is  superior,  or  not  so,  to  its  synonyms. 
Such  knowledge  includes,  further,  perception  of  the  forces 
of  a  word  in  varieties  of  connection.  The  life  of  a  word, 
like  that  of  a  tree,  is  seldom  in  one  tap-root,  so  that  it  al- 
ways signifies  the  same  thing,  and  carries  the  same  weight, 
and  gives  to  thought  the  same  momentum  in  oral  speech. 
It  commonly  has  fibres,  by  which  connection  modifies  force. 
Look  at  the  idiomatic  phrases  in  our  language,  of  which 
the  word  "come  "  is  the  centre — "come  at,"  "come  to," 
"  come  short,"  "  come  off,"  "  come  by."  See  Webster's 
Dictionary. 

4.  Mastery  of  a  word  involves,  also,  knowledge  of  its  pos- 
sible figurative  uses  ;  not  only  of  those  which  dictionaries 
define,  but  of  other  forces  which  a  writer  may  Knowledge  of 
originate  by  a  figurative  combination.  The  Slti^S^S 
heavy  preponderance  of  the  weights  of  Ian-  a  word, 
guage  is  in  the  scale  of  its  figurative  senses.  Analogies 
connect  all  words  with  all  words.  By  means  of  figurative 
speech,  all  departments  of  thought  illumine  each  other. 
Originality  in  style  appears  chiefly  in  the  discovery  of  anal- 
ogies, and  fitting  them  to  use.  Who  but  DeQuincey,  for 
instance,  would  ever  have  discovered  the  analogies  of 
thought  which  enabled  him  to  describe  in  a  breath  the  style 
of  Dr.  Johnson,  by  calling  it  the  "  plethoric  tympany  of 
style  "  ?  Yet  all  language  is  veined  by  such  analogies,  in 
which  every  writer  may  range  at  will. 

5.  Once  more  :  mastery  of  language  includes  a  retentive 
control  of  a  vocabulary  and  of  varieties  of  English  construc- 
tion, by  which   they  shall   always  be   at   hand   for  uncon- 


74  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

scious  use.     Do  we  not  often  fret  for  the  right  word,  which 

is  just  outside  of  the  closed  door  of  memory  ?     We  know 

,    that  there  is  such  a  word  ;  we  know  that  it  is 

Retentive  control 

of  a  good  vocab-  precisely  the  word  we  want ;  no  other  can  fill 
its  place  ;  we  saw  it  mentally  a  short  half- 
hour  ago  :  but  we  beat  the  air  for  it  now.  The  power  we 
crave  is  the  power  to  store  words  within  reach,  and  hold 
them  in  mental  reserve  till  they  are  wanted,  and  then  to 
summon  them  by  the  unconscious  vibration  of  a  thought. 
Nothing  can  give  it  to  us  but  study  and  use  of  the  language 
in  long-continued  and  critical  practice.  It  is  the  slow 
fruitage  of  a  growing  mind. 

Walter  Scott,  for  instance,  saunters  through  the  streets 

of  Edinburgh,  and  overhears  a  word,  which,  in  its  colloquial 

connections,  expresses  a    shade    of   thought 

Walter  Scott.  ,  •    ,    •  ,        ,  •  TT  f 

which  is  novel  to  him.  He  pauses,  and  makes 
a  note  of  it,  and  walks  on,  pondering  it,  till  it  has  made  a 
nest  for  itself  in  his  brain  ;  and  at  length  that  word  reap- 
pears in  one  of  the  most  graphic  scenes  in  the  "  Fortunes 
of  Nigel." 

Washington  Irving  relates,  that  he  was  once  riding  with 
Thomas  Moore  in  Paris,  when  the  hackney-coach  went  sud- 
denly into  a  rut,  out  of  which  it  came  with 

Thomas  Moore.  ,  .    .  .      ,     .     ,         .      , 

such  a  jolt  as  to  send  their  heads  bumping 
against  the  roof.  "  By  Jove,  I've  got  it  !  "  cried  Moore, 
clapping  his  hands  with  great  glee.  "  Got  what  ?  "  said 
Irving.  "  Why,"  said  the  poet,  "  that  word  which  I've  been 
hunting  for  for  six  weeks  to  complete  my  last  song.  That 
rascally  driver  has  jolted  it  out  of  me." 

The  late  Hon.   Caleb  Cushing,  of  Massachusetts,  spent 
the  larger  part  of  his  mature  life  as  a  member  of  legislative 

bodies.     For  years  he  was  the  Mentor  of  the 

Caleb  Cushing.  T        •    ,  •  , 

Massachusetts  Legislature  at  a  time  when 
his  politics  put  him  always  in  a  minority  on  any  political 
measure.     Yet  he  saved  the  State  from   much  unconstitu- 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  75 

tional  legislation  by  his  power  of  command  over  the  Eng- 
lish language.  It  has  been  said  that  no  suit  at  law  is  known 
to  have  been  brought  into  court  by  any  lawyer,  in  which 
the  success  of  the  suit  depended  on  proving  to  be  unconsti- 
tutional or  defective  any  statute  of  which  Caleb  Cushing 
had  the  control  in  the  committee  which  framed  it.  He  was 
able  to  say,  and  to  assist  legislators  to  say,  so  exactly  what 
was  meant,  that  no  clear-headed  advocate  could  misunder- 
stand the  statute,  or  find  a  flaw  in  it  by  which  to  sustain  a 
lawsuit.  The  explanation  of  that  rare  power  of  his,  of  pre- 
cise utterance,  as  given  by  those  who  knew  him  best,  is, 
that  he  read  and  conversed  in  half  a  dozen  languages,  and 
made  language  the  study  of  his  life.  In  the  convention  for 
the  settlement  of  the  "  Alabama  Claims  "  he  was  the  only 
man  who  could  converse  intelligibly  with  all  the  members  of 
the  convention  in  their  several  vernaculars. 

Reading  which  covers  as  broad  a  range  of  literature  as 
critical  reading  can  cover,  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to  a 
speaker's  studies.  Rufus  Choate  writes  in 
his  diary,  "  I  have  long  been  in  the  habit  of 
reading  daily  some  first-class  English  author,  chiefly  for  the 
copia  verborum,  to  avoid  sinking  into  cheap  and  bald  flu- 
ency, to  give  elevation,  dignity,  sonorousness,  and  refine- 
ment to  my  vocabulary."  This  hint  discloses  to  us  one  of 
the  sources  of  his  magnificent  and  superabundant  diction. 

Great  importance  is,  therefore,  clearly  to  be  attached  to 
the  early  favorites  of  a  young  man  when  his  style  is  form- 
ing. If  he  does  not  form  a  taste  for  scholarly  precision 
then,  he  is  not  likely  ever  to  form  it.  A  certain  peculiarity 
of  shadow,  it  is  said  by  critics  of  art,  is  perceptible  in  all  the 
paintings  of  Rembrandt.  Experts  have  attributed  it  to 
the  fact  that  his  father's  mill,  in  which  his  early  studies  of 
his  art  were  practised,  received  its  light  through  an  aperture 
in  the  roof.  So  it  is  in  the  kindred  art  of  literary  composi- 
tion.    A   very   insignificant  fascination  by  a  very  inferior 


?6  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

author  may  give  to  a  young  man's  style  a  monotone  which 
shall  last  through  a  lifetime.  Precision  especially  is  one 
of  those  products  of  scholarly  taste  which  is  not  apt  to 
attract  a  man  for  the  first  time  in  middle  life  or  old  age. 
Youth  must  plant  it,  or  it  will  not  flourish  in  mature  age. 

III. — Two  Facts  to    Encourage  Young    Writers    and 

Speakers. 

Before  closing  these  remarks  on  command  of  language, 
let  two  facts  be  named  for  the  encouragement  of  young 
writers  and  speakers. 

i.  One  is,  that  a  genuine  command  of  language  is  an 
acquisition,  never  a  gift.  There  is  a  certain  leakage  of 
„  ,    „         words,  which  popular  slang  defines  as  "  the 

Command  of  '  r    '  " 

language  an  ac-  gift  of  the  gab,"  which  may  be  a  gift,  but  is 
no  sign  of  control  over  one's  mother-tongue, 
but  the  reverse  rather.  That  control  is  an  acquisition  by 
the  ablest  as  by  the  most  feeble  writers.  We  read  the 
writings  of  De  Quincey  with  a  discouraging  admiration  of 
his  marvellous  uses  of  English.  Whatever  other  excellence 
he    has    not,    he    certainly    has    this,  of   the 

De  Quincey. 

power  to  summon  and  put  to  use  a  large 
and  forcible  vocabulary.  The  exuberance  of  his  style  is 
excessive.  The  growth  is  rank.  Yet  he  tells  us  that  in 
early  life  he  labored  under  a  "  peculiar  penury  of  words." 
1  He  regarded  the  infirmity  of  his  mind  in  that  respect  as 
■  extreme.  It  gave  him,  he  says,  "  a  distinguished  talent  for 
silence."  What  young  writer  or  speaker  does  not  know 
the  experience  of  that  "  distinguished  talent  for  silence  ? " 
De  Quincey's  acquired  power  of  utterance  is  finely  illus- 
trated in  his  subsequent  description  of  his  early  reticence. 
He  says,  "  I  labored  like  a  Sibyl  instinct  with  prophetic 
woe,  as  often  as  I  found  myself  dealing  with  any  topic  in 
which   the  understanding  combined  with   deep  feelings  to 


PRECISION   OF  STYLE 


77 


suggest  mixed  and  tangled  thoughts."  He  adds,  that 
Wordsworth  also  suffered  in  early  manhood  from  the  same 
cause.  In  both  cases,  doubtless,  the  ultimate  affluence  of 
style  was  an  acquisition.  It  was  a  laborious  acquisition. 
It  grew  hardily  and  thriftily,  as  an  oak  does,  out  of  the  very 
toughness  of  the  native  soil. 

2.  The  other  fact  to  be  remembered  for  our  encourage- 
ment  is,  that  the  vocabulary  which  is  necessary  to  effective 
speech  is  much  less  voluminous  than  is  often  The  vocabulary 
supposed.      Our   language,    it    is  estimated,      of  effective 

rr  .  o      e>   5  >       speech  not  vo- 

contains  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  luminous. 
thousand  words  ;  yet,  of  this  immense  number,  it  is  sur- 
prising how  few  are  in  common  use.  The  majority  even  of 
educated  men,  it  is  believed  by  careful  critics,  not  only  do 
not  use  more  than  one-tenth  of  them,  but  would  not  recog- 
nize more  than  that  as  having  been  met  with  in  their  reading. 
The  obsolete  and  obsolescent  words,  the  vulgarisms,  the  pro- 
vincialisms, the  terms  technical  to  the  arts  and  the  profes- 
sions, the  imports  from  other  languages,  the  words  of  recent 
coinage  which  have  not  acquired  naturaliza-  Webster's  Dic- 
tion in  the  language,  and  the  words  which  a  tionary. 
public  speaker  would  not  employ  twice  in  a  lifetime,  probably 
comprise  by  far  the  larger  part  of  Webster's  Dictionary. 

It  is  stated  on  scholarly  authority,  that  a  child  does 
not  commonly  use  more  than  a  hundred  words  ;  and,  un- 
less he  belongs  to  a  cultivated  family,  he  words  used  by 
will  never  habitually  employ  more  than  three  a  child- 
or  four  hundred.  An  eminent  American  scholar  estimates 
that  few  practised  writers  or  speakers  use  as  many  as  ten 
thousand  words  in  threescore  years  of  public 

J  Words  used 

life.      Speakers   employ   not   so   many,  by  a  by  practised 

large  count,  as  writers  employ.     Max  Miiller  speakers. 

says,  that  "  a  well-educated  person  who  has  been  at  a 
public  school  in  England  and  at  an  English  university,  who 
reads    his   Bible   and    Shakespeare,   and    all    the    books    in 


78  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Mudie's  Library,  that  is,  nineteen-twentieths  of  all  the 
books  published  in  England,  seldom  uses  more  than  three 
or  four  thousand  words  in  actual  conversation."  Eloquent 
speakers,  he  thinks,  may  rise  to  a  command  of  ten  thou- 
sand. "  Even  Milton,"  writes  another  critic — "  Milton, 
whose  wealth  of  words  seems  amazing,  and  whom  Dr. 
Johnson  charges  with  using  a  Babylonish  dialect,  uses  only 
about  eight  thousand  ;  and  Shakespeare  '  the  myriad- 
minded,'  only  fifteen  thousand."  The  Old  Testament 
contains  less  by  some  hundreds  than  six  thousand  words. 
These  facts  go  to  show  that  a  scholarly  mastery  of  an  Eng- 
lish vocabulary,  large  and  varied  enough  for  forcible  public 
speech,  ought  not  to  be  looked  upon  with  awe,  as  an  im- 
possible or  very  difficult  achievement. 

ANALYSIS. 

PRECISION   OF   STYLE    (CONTINUED). 

I.  Chief  Causes  of  a  Loose  Style. 

i.  Indiscriminate  Thinking. 

(a)  The  Foundation  of  Precision. 

2.  Excessive  Care  for  Expression. 

(a)  Servile  Imitation. 

(b)  Robert  Hall's  Confession. 

3.  Want  of  a  Command  of  Language. 

II.  Means  of  Acquiring  a  Command  of  Language. 

1.  By  Power  to  select  and  to  reject  Words. 

2.  By  Union  of  Critical  Study  and  Use  of  Language. 

3.  By  Knowledge  of  the  Synonyms  of  Words. 

4.  By  Knowledge  of  the  Figurative  Uses  of  Words. 

5.  By  Retentive  Control  of  a  Good  Vocabulary. 

(a)  Walter  Scott,  Thomas  Moore,  and  Caleb  Cushing  as 

Examples. 

(b)  The  Reading  of  Good  Literature. 

III.  Two  Facts  to  encourage  Young  Writers  and  Speakers. 

1.  Command  of  Language  an  Acquisition  not  a  Gift. 

2.  The  Vocabulary  of  Effective  Speech  not  Voluminous. 


CHAPTER    X 

PRECISION   OF   STYLE    (CONCLUDED) 

The    Inducements   to    the   Cultivation   of    Precision 
of  Style  by  a   Public  Speaker. 

The  only  branch  of  the  subject  before  us  which  remains 
to  be  considered  is  the  inquiry,  Why  should  a  speaker  to  a 
promiscuous  assembly  be  scrupulous  to  cultivate  a  precise 
style  ?  Scarcely  any  other  quality  of  speech  has  been  made 
the  object  of  so  much  impatient  and  sarcastic  criticism  as 
this  of  precision. 

I. — Popular  Idea  of  a  Precise  Style. 

Quintilian  said  of  a  certain  author,  and  it  has  been  re- 
peated of  scores  of  others,  for  it  is  the  keenest  remark  that 
Quintilian  ever  made,  "that  his  greatest  ex- 

,  '  fe  Quintilian. 

cellence  was,  that  he  had  no  faults  ;  and  his 
greatest  fault,  that  he  had  no  excellences."  This  is  often 
nearly  the  popular  idea  of  a  precise  style.  Preciseness  in 
manners  is  ranked  as  its  twin-brother.  Robust  men  are 
not  charmed  with  prigs  in  oral  speech  any  more  than  in 
morals.  It  is  instructive  to  observe  the  complacency  with 
which  some  educated  men  will  express  contempt  for  the 
class  of  studies  which  that  of  precision  represents.  When 
a  celebrated  preacher  was  once  asked  what  A  popu]ar 
principles  he  followed  in  regulating  his  own  preacher's  rules, 
style,  he  answered,  "  I  have  but  two.  One  is,  have  some- 
thing to  say;  and  the  other,  say  it."  A  truth  was  con- 
tained in  the  aphorism,  but  by  no  means  all  the  truth,  or 


8b  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AXD    PRACTICE 

the  best  of  it.  It  would  be  as  apt  a  reply  if  an  architect, 
when  asked  on  what  rules  of  architecture  he  constructed  a 
cathedral,  had  said,  "  I  have  had  but  two  :  one  was  to  get 
the  job,  and  the  other,  to  execute  it." 

Robert  Southey  says,  with  scarcely  more  discernment  of 
the  merits  of  the  question,  "  I  have  but  three  rules  of  com- 
position— to    write    as    clearly    as  I   can,   to 

Robert  Southey.  .  .      ,  _  J     ,  .    ' 

write  as  concisely  as  I  can,  and-  to  write  as 
impressively  as  I  can."  "As  clearly  as  I  can" — was  the 
study  of  precision  useless  to  that  ?  "  As  concisely  as  I 
can  " — had  precision  no  concern  with  that  ?  "  As  impres- 
sively as  I  can" — could  precision  give  no  aid  to  that? 
Southey's  neglect  of  critical  study  of  language  had  its  nat- 
ural effect  on  his  own  style.  He  is  distinguished  as  a  vo- 
luminous rather  than  a  powerful  author.  He  would  have 
doubled  the  duration  of  his  influence  on  English  literature 
if  he  had  published  less,  and  elaborated  more.  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson  dismisses  his  name  with  a  sneer — "Who  is 
Southey  ?" 

II. — Inducements   to    the   Cultivation    of    a    Precise 

Style. 

i.  In  opposition  to  such  unscholarly  neglect  of  the  study 

of  those  elements  in  style  which  precision  represents,  let  it 

be  remarked,  first,  that  this  study  does  not 

It  does  not  imply  '  J 

anything  necessitate  in  the  result    the    acquisition  of 

any  thing  pedantic  or  unpractical.  You  do 
not  become  a  mere  word-hunter  by  hunting  words.  The 
fact  remains  unanswered,  that  the  most  powerful  masters 
of  English  speech  are  those  who  have  studied  the  resources 
of  the  language  most  critically.  The  ablest  thinkers  are 
they  who  can  put  thought  into  its  most  exact  expression. 
Those  who  are  most  successful  in  making  style  the  servitor 
of  thought  are  they  who  have    most  thoroughly    weighed 


PRECISION  OF  STY  IE  8 1 

words.  Such  authors  and  speakers  command  the  words 
they  need,  and  use  no  more  and  no  other.  They  are  free 
from  the  entire  class  of  literary  defects  which  arise  from 
the  tyranny  of  expression  over  thought. 

2.  Precision  and  the  study  of  it  are  essential  to  certain 
other  qualities  of  a  good  style  ;  for  instance,  they  assist 
clearness  of  style.  A  speaker,  especially,  It  promotes 
who  must  deal  with  difficult  themes,  and  in  clearness. 
oral  address,  and  to  the  popular  mind,  will  often  find,  that 
if  he  would  be  understood,  if  he  would  not  be  misunder- 
stood, he  must  say  exactly  what  he  means.  He  must  put 
into  language  intelligible  to  the  common  mind  his  ultimate 
thoughts  on  the  subject  in  hand.  Not  a  word  too  many, 
not  a  word  too  few,  not  an  ill-chosen  word,  not  a  misplaced 
word,  not  a  word  untruthful  in  its  connections,  not  a  figura- 
tive word  which  can  be  mistaken  in  a  literal  sense,  not  a 
word  exaggerating  the  shade  of  his  thought — such  must  his 
style  be  if  he  would  express  himself  at  all,  on  a  certain 
theme,  to  a  promiscuous  audience. 

3.  Precision  and  the  study  of  it  also  promote  energy  of 
style.  The  most  intense  energy  often  depends  on  preci- 
sion. There  is  an  energy  which  is  created  jt  promotes 
by  a  voluminous  vocabulary,  but  the  supreme  energy, 
energy  in  speech  is  from  a  well-chosen  vocabulary.  Force 
of  style  is  specially  intensified  by  the  compression  which 
precision  tends  to  secure.  Take  an  example,  almost  at  ran- 
dom, from  John  Foster  :  "  The  rude  faculty 

....  ...  John  Foster. 

which  is  not  expanded  into  intelligence  may 
be  sharpened  into  cunning."  How  otherwise  could  so 
forcible  an  expression  be  given  to  his  thought  in  a  literal 
form  ?  He  adds  a  figurative  form  of  the  same  idea  :  "  The 
spirit  which  cannot  grow  into  an  eagle  may  take  the  form 
and  action  of  a  snake." 

How  could  you  define  lightning  to  a  man  who  never  saw 
it  ?     Witness  the  struggles  of  blind    men   to   conceive    of 
6 


82  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  A. YD   PRACTICE 

colors.  When  one  said,  "  The  color  of  scarlet  is  like  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,"  he  illustrated  the  struggle  of  the  mind 
to  conceive  and  express  an  impossible  thought  by  the  aid 
of  a  simile.  Like  that  is  the  aid  of  figure  to  the  precision 
of  all  difficult  thought.  Hyperbole  may  assist  precision, 
even  when  it  falsifies  fact.  Said  John  Randolph,  when  seek- 
ing to  provoke  a  duel  with  Henry  Clay,  "  A  hyperbole  for 
John  Randolph      meanness  is  an  ellipsis  for  Clay."      Though 

"and  Henry  Clay.     false      to     fact)     jt     was     not    so     to     the     real 

meaning  of  the  speaker.  He  meant  all  that  he  said  ;  and 
the  reason  for  his  unconscious  choice  of  figurative  style 
was,  that  in  no  other  way  could  he  approximate  the  whole 
of  his  meaning.  We  miss  the  breadth  of  significance  in 
the  term  "precision,"  when  we  restrict  it  to  the  exactness 
of  a  philosophical  definition  and  a  mathematical  demon- 
stration. 

'  4.  Again  :  precision  promotes  elegance  of  style.  This  it 
does  by  promoting  the  fitness  of  style  to  sentiment.  Our 
it  promotes  sense  of  beauty  depends  largely  on  our  sense 

elegance.  0f  fitness.     This  we  feel,  not  in  words  only, 

but  in  construction  as  well.  What  is  the  defect  in  the  fol- 
lowing specimen  ?  A  church  which  was  burnt  in  Saco,  Me., 
was  thus  discoursed  upon  by  a  rural  editor  :  "  The  church 
was  erected  during  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Elihu  Whit- 
comb  ;  and  the  dedication  sermon  was  preached  February 
12,  1S06.  It  was  ninety  feet  in  length  and  fifty-four  in 
breadth."  We  detect  in  this  no  want  of  purity,  the  words 
are  good  English  ;  no  want  of  energy,  the  style  is  as  for- 
cible as  the  thought  is,  and  no  style  should  be  more  ;  no 
want  of  perspicuity,  for  it  is  clear  that  the  writer  meant 
what  he  did  not  say  ;  no  reader  can  mistake  the  sense. 
The  defect  is  a  want  of  precision  of  construction.  No 
writer  would  be  guilty  of  it  who  was  accustomed  to  study 
precision  as  a  tribute  to  elegance. 

5.  Further  :    precision  is  the  most  effective  test  of  af- 


PRECISION  OF  STYLE  83 

fected  style  as  distinct  from  genuine  style.  In  affected 
style,  expression  is  estranged  from  thought.  Apply  the 
test  of  precision,  and  the  mask  drops.  In  a  It  prornotes  gen- 
certain  treatise  on  political  economy  may  be  umeness  of  style, 
found  this  declaration  :  "  As  much  food  as  a  man  can  buy 
for  as  much  wages  as  a  man  can  get  for  as  much  work  as  a 
man  can  do,  ought  to  satisfy  every  citizen  of  the  state."  A 
profound  principle   of    political    science    ap-     .  ,   , 

1  r  *  *  r       An  example  from 

pears    here    to    be  expressed   in  pithy,  con-    political  econo- 
densed,  forcible  diction.     A  world  of  axio-    my' 
matic  wisdom  seems  to  be  packed  into  this  monosyllabic 
sentence.     Probably  the  writer  himself  believed,  certainly 
meant  that  his  readers  should  believe,  that  this  was  a  mar- 
vel of  laconic  force. 

Now  analyze  it  by  the  inquiry,  What  exactly  does  it 
mean  ?  Reverse  the  order  of  the  thoughts,  for  the  sake  of 
clearing  it  of  its  deceptive  axiomatic  forms,  and  it  reads 
thus  :  "  A  good  citizen  will  first  do  as  much  work  as  he  can 
do  ;  for  his  work  he  will  ask  as  much  wages  as  he  can  get ; 
and  then  he  will  spend  it  all  on  food,  and  be  content."  He 
may  not  possess  a  hat,  or  a  shoe,  or  a  coat,  or  a  book.  Yet 
he  has  done  his  whole  duty  to  the  state  ;  and  the  state,  its 
duty  to  him.  Even  with  largest  allowance  for  latent  and 
understood  ideas,  it  amounts  only  to  this  :  that  a  man 
should  be  content  with  the  best  he  can  do  and  the  best 
he  can  get.  What  concern  has  this  with  the  elements  of 
political  economy  ?  It  reminds  one  of  another  notable  ex- 
ample of  economic  wisdom,  in  which  the  author  advanced 
as  an  elementary  principle  of  population  which  Malthus  had 
never  discovered,  "  that  a  large  town  densely  peopled  must 
commonly  support  a  greater  number  of  inhabitants  than  a 
small  place  sparsely  settled,  especially  if  it  be  in  the  rural 
districts."  Apply  to  any  form  of  affectation  in  style  the 
query,  "  What  precisely  does  the  writer  mean  ?  "  and  the 
glamour  of  affected  excellence  disappears. 


84  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

6.  Precision  is  not  only  auxiliary  to  other  qualities  of  a 
good  style,  but  it  has  an  independent  virtue  of  its  own.    This 

is  not  easily  defined,  yet  we  all  feel  it.     We 

It  is  astvle  ap-  . 

proved  for  its  respond  approvingly  to  a  precise  style,  not 
merely  because  it  is  a  perspicuous  style,  not 
merely  because  it  is  a  vigorous  style,  not  merely  because  it 
is  a  becoming  style.  We  approve  of  it  for  its  own  sake. 
That  is  a  keen  mind  which  can  say  what  it  means,  and  all 
that  it  means  ;  and  we  respect  a  keen  mind.  That  is  an 
honest  mind  which  does  say  all  that  it  means  ;  and  we  trust 
an  honest  mind.  That  is  often  a  bold  mind  which  does  not 
fear  to  say  all  that  it  means  ;  and  men  are  attracted  always 
by  the  bold  virtues.  "He  says  what  he  means"  is  often 
the  highest  encomium  which  the  popular  verdict  gives  to  a 
public  speaker. 

7.  We  often  think  of  precision  as  one  of  the  peculiarly 
scholarly  virtues.  It  is  that  ;  but  the  popular  mind  is  pas- 
It  is  a  popular  sionately  fond  of  it  as  well.  A  common 
style-  audience  often  makes  a  blunt  demand  for  it 
in  an  extreme.  They  silently  crowd  upon  a  speaker  the 
mandate  :  "  Say  what  you  think  ;  out  with  it  !  "  Nothing 
wearies  them  more  quickly  than  a  style  which  beats  about 
the  bush.  They  never  read  diplomatic  papers.  One  rea- 
son for  the  popular  simile,  "  As  dull  as  a  sermon,"  is,  that 
sermons  are  so  often  written  in  a  style  indicative  of  self- 
restraint — a  style  which  a  certain  critic  has  described  as 
one  in  which  "words  spend  their  time  in  dodging  things." 

Men  crave  a  coarse  precision,  a  savage   form  of  truth. 

Yet  it  is  the  truth  after  all.     The   common  mind  will  not 

long  retain  a  label  of  a  distinguished  contem- 

Popular  slang. 

porary  if  it  is  not  true.  Popular  slang,  in 
such  cases,  though  etymologically  loose,  is  commonly  def- 
inite to  the  popular  ear,  and  substantially  exact.  No  lan- 
guage is  more  so.  Thus,  when  a  prince  has  proved  himself 
bold,  quick,  decisive,  ponderous   in  character,    the   popular 


PR EC I  SI ON   OF  STYLE  85 

voice  has  summed  up  its  verdict  in  one  figurative  but  exact 
title,  "  Charles  the  Hammer."  When  a  military  chief  has 
proved  himself  sanguinary,  cruel,  ferocious,  relentless,  the 
people  have  told  the  whole  story  of  his  life  in  the  single 
phrase,  "  Alva  the  Butcher." 

The  watchwords  of  political  parties  again  illustrate  the 
same  thing.  These  are  often  intensely  figurative  ;  yet,  if 
they  have  great  force  with  the  people,  they  watchwords  of 
are  as  intensely  true.  No  style  can  express  political  parties, 
the  truth  with  more  of  that  vividness  which  is  often  neces- 
sary to  precise  ideas  in  the  popular  mind.  General  Harri- 
son owed  his  elevation  to  the  presidency  of  our  republic,  in 
large  measure,  to  his  supposed  sympathy  with  the  simple 
and  rude  usages  of  backwoodsmen  ;  and  this  was  expressed 
in  the  old  war-cry  of  the  Whigs  of  1840  :  "  Log  Cabin  and 
Hard  Cider."  General  Taylor  owed  his  election  to  the 
same  office,  largely  to  the  sobriquet  which  his  soldiers  gave 
him  in  the  Mexican  war,  "  Old  Rough  and  Ready."  Gen- 
eral Scott  was  believed  to  have  lost  his  election  because  of 
the  nickname  by  which  his  enemies  ridiculed  his  well-known 
fondness  for  military  etiquette,  "  Old  Fuss  and  Feathers." 
Thousands  of  voters'who  cared  nothing,  and  knew  nothing, 
about  the  policies  of  the  contending  parties,  knew  as  def- 
initely as  you  do  what  those  watchwords  meant  ;  and 
they  voted  for  and  against  the  things  which  those  words 
painted  to  their  mental  vision.  A  style  in  which  men  said 
what  they  meant,  and  meant  what  they  believed,  carried 
the  day,  although  it  was  made  up  of  popular  slang. 

ANALYSIS. 

PRECISION   OF   STYLE   (CONTINUED). 

I.   Popular  Idea  of  a  Precise  Style. 

1.  A  Popular  Preacher's  Rules. 

2.  Robert  Southey's  Rules. 


86  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  A. YD  PRACTICE 

II.  Inducements  to  the  Cultivation  of  a  Precise  Style. 

It  does  not  imply  anything  Pedantic. 
It  promotes  Perspicuity  of  Style. 

3.  It  promotes  Energy  of  Style. 

4.  It  promotes  Elegance  of  Style. 

5.  It  promotes  Genuineness  of  Style. 

6.  It  is  a  Style  approved  for  Its  Own  Sake. 
It  is  a  Popular  Style. 


CHAPTER  XI 

PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE 

I. — General  Divisions  of  the  Subject. 

For  the  object  of  the  present  discussions,  perspicuity  of 
style  needs  to  be  considered  in  reference  to  four  things — 
thoughts,  imagery,  words,  construction. 

II. — Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  Thought. 

Perspicuity  must,  like  every  other  quality  of  a  good 
style,  find  its  foundation  in  the  thought  to  be  expressed. 
An  important  class  of  the  causes  of  obscurity,  therefore, 
concerns  the  thoughts  of  a  discourse. 

i.  Obscurity  may  arise  from  the  absence  of  thought. 
Dr.  Campbell  writes  :  "  It  hath  been  said,  that  in  madmen 
there  is  as  great  a  variety  of  character  as  in    ^ 

.  Obscuntv      ans- 

those  who  enjoy  the  use  of  reason;  and  in    ing  from  absence 

i-i  -j.  -u  •  i       r  ,1  of  thought. 

like  manner  it  may  be  said  of  nonsense,  that  & 

in  writing  it,  there  is  as  great  scope  for  variety  of  style  as 
there  is  in  writing  sense."  Men  may  write  nonsense  un- 
consciously. What  conception  of  truth  have  preachers  had 
in  discoursing  of  "  the  eternal  Now  "  ?  Certain  it  is,  that  if 
the  pulpit  has  meant  by  this  phrase  anything  more  or  other 
than  the  omniscience  of  the  Divine  Mind,  they  have  experi- 
mented with  an  inconceivable  idea.  Lansaiao-e  is  at  a  dead- 
lock  at  the  outset.  If  the  phrase  means  the  absence,  from 
the  consciousness  of  the  Divine  Mind,  of  all  knowledge  of 
succession  in  time,  it  is  nonsense,  in  the  sense  of  being  an 
impossible  notion  of  the  Deity. 


88  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

A  preacher  is  mentioned  also  by  Dr.  Campbell,  who  once 
remarked,  as  evidence  of  the  goodness  of  God,  that  to  our 
minds  the  moments  of  time  come  in  succession,  and  not 
simultaneously  ;  "  for,"  said  he  sagely,  "  if  they  had  been  so 
ordered  as  to  come  simultaneously,  the  result  would  have 
been  infinite  confusion."  It  reminds  one  of  Southey's  crit- 
„     ,  icism    on    a   literary    production    which    he 

Southey. 

deemed  a  monument  of  folly.  He  said  that 
"  such  pure,  involuntary,  unconscious  nonsense  is  inimit- 
able by  any  effort  of  sense." 

This  is,  sometimes,  the  real  and  only  cause  of  obscure 
passages  in  public  discourses  otherwise  intelligible — that 
the  speaker  talks  on  when  he  has  nothing  to  say.  He 
plays  on  the  keys  of  the  organ,  with  no  wind  in  the  pipes. 
His  mind  is  vacant  of  thought;  and  to  fill  up  time,  or  to 
round  out  the  rhythm  of  a  sentence,  he  speaks  words — 
words — words  !     For  the  moment  he  belongs  to  the  class 

of  authors  of  whom    Whately  says,    "  They 

Whately.  .  .  .  ,  ,  , 

aim  at  nothing,  and  hit  it."  Patches  of  such 
vacuity  may  be  found  in  compositions  which  as  a  whole  are 
thoughtful. 

2.  A  much  more  frequent  cause  of  obscure  expression  is 
vagueness  of  thought.  Vague  thinking  necessitates  in- 
definite utterance.  Utterance  can  be  no  wiser  than  the 
..,        .  thought  is.     A  man  cannot  say  what  is  not 

Obscurity      ans-  °  J 

ing  from  vague-    in  him  to  say.     The  style  of  vague  thinking 

ness  of  thought.  ,  •/-  Ti    i  •  <th_ 

cannot  be  specific.  It  has  no  point.  I  he 
thinking  is  not  forceful  enough  to  compel  clear  expres- 
sion. 

It  used  to  be  said  of  Napoleon  that  he  did  not  under- 
stand diplomacy,  and  that  he  never  practised  the  diplomatic 
Napoleon  and  style.  The  statesmen  of  Europe  were  per- 
diplomacy.  plexed,  because  they  could  always  understand 

him  ;  that  is,  his  style  was  that  obvious  style  which  cannot 
be  misunderstood,  if  the  author  has  written  what  he  meant. 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  89 

When  he  left  Paris  for  Waterloo,  he  declared  his  purpose  to 
deliver  a  pitched  battle  at  or  near  that  locality,  in  language 
so  plain,  that  his  opponents  could  not  believe  that  he  was 
not  deceiving  them.  They  well-nigh  lost  the  battle  by  not 
taking  him  at  his  word.  A  certain  critic  of  Napoleon's 
stvle  attributes  this  clearness  of  it,  so  uncommon  in  the 
despatches  of  statesmen,  to  the  uniform  intensity  of  his 
thinking.  His  mental  working  in  all  things  was  so  intense 
that  his  style  was  illuminated.  He  could  not  help  saying 
what  he  meant,  though  Europe  was  in  a  maze  because  they 
could  always  understand  him.  This  is  the  kind  of  mental 
working  which  the  effective  writer  or  speaker  needs — in- 
tense working,  which  sets  style  on  fire  by  the  friction  of 
thought  and  language. 

Fontenelle's  rule  in  composition  was  this  :  "  I  always  try 
first  to  understand  myself."  No  man  will  write  obscurely 
who    thoroughly    understands    himself.     No 

.„  Fontenelle. 

speaker  will  speak  obscurely  in  oral  address 
who  will  first  faithfully  practise  his  speech  on  himself  as  an 
imaginary  hearer.  "  Should  I  understand  this  discourse  if  it 
came  first  upon  me  with  no  preparatory  thinking,  and  in 
oral  form,  in  the  style  which  I  have  given  to  it  ? "  Apply 
this  test,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  it  will  never  delude 
you  into  composition  of  the  nebulous  order. 

The  remedy,  therefore,  for  obscurity  of  style  arising  from 
vagueness  of  thought,  is  either  a  more  thorough  discipline 
or  a  more  thorough  furnishing  of  the  mind.      _.  ,    , 

&  &  The  remedy  for 

In  such  an  exigency  one  must  have  a  more     vagueness  of 

....  .  thought. 

vigorous  thinking  power,  or  certain  mate- 
rials of  thought  which  are  absent.  Sometimes  both  are 
needed.  The  vital  point  to  be  observed  is,  that  no  mere 
study  of  diction  as  such  can  remedy  such  an  evil  as  this. 
Study  of  one's  style  may  disclose  the  evil,  but  cannot  rem- 
edy it.  The  remedy  lies  back  of  rhetorical  criticism. 
More  power  or  more  knowledge,  or  both,  must  fit  a  man  to 


90  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

discuss  subjects  on  which  his  style  exhibits  such  incompe- 
tence. 

3.  Obscurity  of  style  related  to  the  thoughts  of  discourse 
may  spring  also  from  the  affectation  of  profound  thought. 
Obscuritv  aris-  It  *s  one  °f  the  subtle  laws  of  nature,  that 
mg  from  affecta-    nothing  which  is  affected  is  so  clear  as  that 

Hon  of  profound  & 

thought.  which  is  genuine.     In  judging  men,  we  call  a 

genuine   character  a  transparent  character.     So,  in  style, 
nature  is  more  intelligible  than  art. 

Let  it  be   observed,  that  clear  thinking  may  be  made 

obscure  in  the  expression  by   the  attempt  to  clothe  it  in 

the  philosophical  forms  of  profound  thinking. 

George  Brimley.  ,      ,  ,  ,  ,        , 

The  real  thought,  the  kernel  when  the  husk 
is  off,  may  be  so  simple  that  it  is  the  last  thing  a  hearer 
would  suspect  of  being  so  magnificently  hidden.  Let  this 
be  illustrated  by  an  extract  from  the  essays  of  the  late 
George  Brimley,  librarian  of  Trinity  College  at  Cambridge. 
He  is  discoursing  upon  the  nature  of  poetry,  and  he  so- 
liloquizes thus  :  "  A  poetical  view  of  the  universe  is  an 
exhaustive  presentation  of  all  phenomena,  as  individual 
phenomenal  wholes,  of  ascending  orders  of  complexity,  whose 
earliest  stage  is  the  organization  of  single  coexisting  phe- 
nomena into  concrete  individuals,  and  its  apotheosis  the 
marvellous  picture  of  the  infinite  life,  no  longer  conceived 
as  the  oceanic  pulsation  which  the  understanding  called 
cause  and  effect."  Indeed  !  Yet  the  writer  was  no  fool. 
His  essays  show  that  he  had  some  thoughts.  Probably  one 
is  struggling,  like  Milton's  half-created  lion,  to  see  the  light 
in  this  fathomless  and  boundless  revery.  The  kernel  of 
it  was  probably  a  very  simple  thought,  which  Dugald  Stew- 
art would  have  expressed  in  three  lines  which  an  educated 
man  need  not  have  read  a  second  time.  Read  this  of 
George  Brimley's  the  twenty-second  time,  and  are  you  the 
wiser  ? 

The  fact  deserves  notice,  that,  in   the  study  of  modern 


PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE  9 1 

philosophy,  a  professional  man  needs  to  be  on  his  guard 
lest  his  style  of  public  speech  should  become  infected  with 
the  disease  of  artificial  depth.     In  much  of    „„. 

.  x  Effect   of  the 

the  philosophical  style  of  our  age  there  is  a  study  of  modem 
needless  multiplication  of  novel  words,  odd  PhllosoPh>'- 
words,  imported  words,  archaic  words,  general  words  for  spe- 
cific thoughts,  and  a  haziness  of  general  effect,  which  wearies 
a  reader  as  a  blurred  picture  wearies  the  eye.  When  the 
writers  are  charged  with  obscurity  of  diction,  and  they  ex- 
cuse it  on  the  ground  of  its  necessity  to  that  which  they 
call  "the  higher  thinking,"  we  may  well  be  incredulous. 
Many  thoughts  which  are  wrapped  up  in  this  style  of  "  the 
higher  thinking  "  do  not  look,  when  one  comes  at  them, 
to  be  so  inexpressibly  lofty.  They  lie  on  a  plane  a  long  way 
this  side  of  the  third  heaven.  Often  they  are  very  simple 
thoughts,  not  novelties  in  philosophy,  but  susceptible  of 
expression  in  very  homely  English. 

That  was  a  perilous  principle  which  Coleridge  advanced 
respecting  the  capacity  of  human  language,  that  it  cannot 
express  certain  metaphysical  ideas,  and  there- 
fore that  clearness  of  style  in  a  metaphysical 
treatise  is,  prima  facie,  evidence  of  superficialness.  As  Cole- 
ridge was  accustomed  to  illustrate  it,  the  pool  in  which  you 
can  count  the  pebbles  at  the  bottom  is  shallow  water  :  the 
fathomless  depth  is  that  in  which  you  can  see  only  the  re- 
flection of  your  own  face.  This  would  be  true  if  thinking 
were  water.  But  the  principle  opens  the  way  to  the  most 
stupendous  impositions  upon  speculative  science.  It  tempts 
authors  to  the  grossest  affectations  in  style.  In  the  study 
of  modern  psychology,  therefore,  a  writer  needs  to  be  on 
his  guard.  We  may  safely  treat  as  a  fiction  in  philosophy 
anything  which  claims  to  be  a  discovery,  yet  cannot  make 
itself  understood  without  huge  and  unmanageable  contor- 
tions of  the  English  tongue. 

4.  Thought  may  give  occasion  for  obscurity  of  style  by 


92  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

its  real  profoundness.  Subjects  may  be  too  abstruse  for 
oral  discussion.  Speculation  may  be  too  refined  for  popular 
Obscurity  aris-  comprehension.  Argument  may  be  too  long- 
ing from   real       protracted  for  the  power  of  attention  in   a 

profoundness  of      '  ' 

thought.  promiscuous  assembly. 

One  form  of  this  defect  is  that  of  pursuing  simple  themes 
into  complicated  relations.  No  theme  is  so  simple  that  it 
cannot  be  handled  abstrusely.  The  most  simple  truths  are 
elemental  truths.  They  are  principles.  They  are  founda- 
tions and  pillars  on  which  systems  of  truth  are  constructed. 
Language  cannot  render  all  the  relations  of  such  truths 
clear  to  all  minds  in  oral  speech. 

Robert  Southey  says  of  Edmund  Burke,  "  Few  converts 
were  made  by  him,  because,  instead  of  making  difficult 
Method  of  Ed-  things  easy,  he  made  things  easy  in  them- 
mund  Burke.  selves  difficult  to  be  comprehended,  by  the 
manner  in  which  he  presented  them  ;  evolving  their  causes, 
and  involving  their  consequences,  till  the  reader  whose 
mind  was  not  habituated  to  metaphysical  discussion  knew 
neither  in  what  his  argument  began,  nor  in  what  it  ended." 

A  caution,  however,  needs  to  be  observed  on  this  danger  ; 
it  is,  that  we  should  not  underrate  the  power  of  language 
to  make  difficult  things  clear  to  the  popular  comprehen- 
sion. 

The  most  successful  speakers  to  the  popular  mind  on 
secular  themes  are,  after  all,  the  men  of  thought.  There  is 
a  certain  tact  often  witnessed  in  secular  speech  which 
plants  itself  never  below  the  level  of  the  popular  thought, 
always  above  that  level,  yet  so  near  it  as  to  secure  popular 
sympathy,  and  always  to  make  itself  understood.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  this  tact  is  ever  consciously  chosen  as  an 
expedient :  it  is  a  gift.  But  the  men  who  possess  it  never 
fail  to  gain  a  hearing  ;  and  as  a  rule  they  succeed,  when 
demagogues  who  despise  the  people,  yet  truckle  to  their 
tastes,  fail. 


PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE  93 

When  President  Lincoln  was  once  inquired  of  what  was 
the  secret  of  his  success  as  a  popular  debater,  he  replied, 
"I  always  assume  that  my  audience  are  in  Method  of  Presi- 
many  things  wiser  than  I  am,  and  I  say  the  dent  Lincoln. 
most  sensible  thing  I  can  to  them.  I  never  found  that  they 
did  not  understand  me."  Two  things  here  were  all  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  conscious  of,  respect  for  the  intellect  of 
his  audience,  and  the  effort  to  say  the  most  sensible  thing. 
He  could  not  know  how  those  two  things  affected  the  re- 
spect of  his  audience  for  him,  their  trust  in  him  as  their  su- 
perior, and  their  inclination  to  obey  him  on  the  instant 
when  they  felt  the  magnetism  of  his  voice.  But  he  saw, 
that,  say  what  he  might  in  that  mood,  he  got  a  hearing,  he 
was  understood,  he  was  obeyed. 

Good  sense  can  make  anything  intelligible  which  good 
sense  will  wish  to  utter  to  the  popular  mind,  or  which  good 
sense    will    care   to    hear.     We  are   in  more 

,  -  .  ,  .    ,  Wordsworth. 

danger  of  suppressing  truth  which  hearers 
can  understand  than  of  attempting  to  express  truth  which 
is  above  them.  "Overshooting"  is  not  so  frequent  as 
shooting  into  the  ground.  Wordsworth  says,  "  There  is  no 
excuse  for  obscurity  in  writing  ;  because,  if  we  would  give 
our  whole  souls  to  anything,  as  a  bee  does  to  a  flower, 
there  would  be  little  difficulty  in  any  intellectual  employ- 
ment." John  Foster  was  a  marvel  and  a  model  of  patience 
and  of  energy  in  forcing  profound  thought  Method  of 

into   expression.     He   often   spent  hours,  as  John  Foster, 

he  tells  us,  in  the  labor  which  he  calls  "pumping  ;  "  that  is, 
forcing  his  thoughts  up  to  the  surface  of  a  familiar  diction. 
Read  his  essays  ;  see  what  his  thoughts  were  ;  then  observe 
the  transparency  of  his  style.  With  such  an  example  in 
view,  one  need  never  despair  of  discussing  intelligibly  in 
public  speech  any  subject  which  ought  ever  to  be  generally 
discussed. 

5.  Thought  may  lead  to  obscure  expression  through   ra- 


94  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

pidity  in  the  succession  of  thoughts.  The  majority  of  minds 
require  time  to  take  in  a  difficult  thought,  and  make  ac- 
~,        .        .         quaintance  with  it.     They  need  to  dwell  upon 

Obscurity  ans-         ^  J  1 

ing  from  rapid-      the  point  of  an  argument.     They  require  il- 

ity  of  thought.  ,  ,    '  ....  . 

lustration,  varied  statement,  repetition.  A 
diffuse  style,  therefore,  the  sign  of  a  slow  succession  of 
thought,  is  a  necessary  style  for  some  subjects  and  some 
audiences. 

Rapid  succession  of  disorderly  thought  is  the  general 
infirmity  of  excited  minds.  Extemporaneous  speakers  are 
often  thus  embarrassed.  The  wheel  takes  fire  from  the 
friction  of  its  own  revolutions.  This  is  the  cause  of  the 
majority  of  the  blunders  of  extemporaneous  speaking.  Irish 
"bulls"  have  their  counterparts  in  some  of  the  phenomena 
of  extemporaneous  oratory.  They  are  not  expressive  of  a 
vacant  mind,  but  of  the  reverse.  They  indicate  a  freshet 
.    ,       of  thought.     The  speaker  in  the  English  Par- 

A  speaker  in  the  . 

English  Parlia-  liament,  who,  in  the  tumult  of  patriotic  en- 
thusiasm, said,  "  Sir,  I  would  give  up  half,  yes, 
the  whole,  of  the  constitution,  to  save  the  other  half,"  had  a 
thought  to  express,  and  a  valuable  one  ;  but  it  overslaughed 
his  tongue.  The  speaker,  who,  in  a  paroxysm  of  tempestu- 
ous loyalty,  said,  "  Sir,  I  stand  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  my 
sovereign,"  was  not  affecting  any  feat  of  gymnastic  agility. 
His  thought  formed  itself  first  in  the  standing  posture  :  the 
prostration  was  an  after-thought. 

Sir  Roche  Boyle,  whose  speeches  have  so  long  been  a 
thesaurus  to  rhetorical  writers  of  illustrations  of  rheto- 
Sir  Roche  rical  blunders,  was  not  void  of  thought,  even 

B°yle-  in  the  well-known    instance    of   his    inquiry, 

iv  What  has  posterity  done  for  us  ?  "  He  had  a  thought 
which  was  entirely  logical  to  his  purpose.  It  was  that  of 
the  reasonableness  of  reciprocity  of  service.  Probably  he 
was  driven  into  a  vacuum  of  thought  by  the  burst  of  laugh- 
ter which   followed,  and  which   he   met  by  explaining,  "  By 


PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE  95 

posterity,  sir,  I  do  not  mean  our  ancestors,  but  those  who 
are  to  come  immediately  after."  One  of  the  aims  of  con- 
quest in  the  mastery  of  extemporaneous  speech  is  that 
of  beating  back  the  rush  and  trampling  of  thoughts  which 
huddle  themselves  into  these  bovine  forms  of  style. 

ANALYSIS. 

PERSPICUITY    OF    STYLE. 
I.    General  Divisions  of  Subject. 

II.    Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  Thought. 

1.  Obscurity  arising  from  Absence  of  Thought. 

2.  Obscurity  arising  from  Vagueness  of  Thought. 

(a)  Napoleon's  Diplomacy. 

(b)  Fontenelle's  Rule. 

(c)  The  Remedy  for  Vagueness  of  Thought. 

3.  Obscurity  arising  from  Affectation  of  Profound  Thought. 

(a)  Effect  of  the  Study  of  Modern  Philosophy. 

(b)  Statement  of  Coleridge. 

4.  Obscurity  arising  from  Real  Profoundness  of  Thought. 

(a)  Method  of  Edmund  Burke. 

(b)  Method  of  President  Lincoln. 

5.  Obscurity  arising  from  Rapidity  of  Thought. 

(a)  A  Speaker  in  the  House  of  Parliament. 

(b)  Sir  Roche  Boyle's  Inquiry. 


CHAPTER    XII 

PERSPICUITY   OF    STYLE    (CONTINUED) 

I. —  Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  the   Use  of  Imagery. 

Perspicuity  of  style,  having  its  foundation  in  the  thoughts 
to  be  expressed,  is  further  affected  by  the  use  of  imagery. 

i.  Obscurity  may  arise  from  incongruous  imagery.  Im- 
agery is  painting.  The  expressiveness  of  it  is  measured  by 
incongruous  lts  congruity.     More   frequently  than   other- 

imagery,  wise,  the   incongruity  of  imagery  consists  in 

its  irrelevance.  It  may  not  be  contradictory  to  the  truth, 
but  may  have  no  natural  concern  with  it.  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury speaks  of  a  "  wilderness  of  mind."  What  clear  idea 
does  one  receive  from  that  ?  He  also  writes  of  an  "  obscure 
climate  "  of  the  human  intellect.  What  is  an  obscure  cli- 
mate, what  is  any  "  climate  "  of  the  intellect  ?  Make  pictures 
mentally  of  these  attempts  at  imagery,  and  what  is  the  look  of 
them  ?  Such  images  blur  thought  by  taxing  the  attention 
to  discover  resemblances  which  do  not  exist.  Congruity  is 
the  first  requisite  and  test  of  a  genuine  imaginative  diction. 

2.  Similar  is   the  obscurity  caused  by  the  use  of  mixed 

imagery.     The  Hon.  Henry  A.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  will  be 

immortalized     for     having    executed     John 

P4ixed  imagery. 

Brown,  rather  than  for  perpetrating  the  fol- 
lowing before  the  House  of  Burgesses  :  "  Virginia  has  an 
iron  chain  of  mountains  running  through  her  centre,  which 
God  has  placed   there  to  milk  the  clouds    and  to  be   the 

source  of  her  silver  rivers."     What,  in  detail, 

Governor  Wise.       ...  , .  .     .         -    . 

is  the  fact  corresponding  to  a  chain  of  iron 
drawing  milk  from  the  clouds,  which  flows  in  rivers  of  silver  ? 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  97 

The  juxtaposition,  also,  of  the  milk  and  the  river,  is  quite 
too  suggestive  of  a  less  dignified  occurrence.  Surely  the 
mind  of  man,  when  it  seriously  expresses  itself  in  such  in- 
conceivable compounds,  seems  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made. 

3.  Obscurity,  again,  may  be  occasioned  by  Learned  ima- 
the  employment  of  learned  imagery.  gery. 

The  style  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  for  the  practical  uses  of 
preaching,  was  well-nigh  ruined  by  his  excessive  use  of  his 
classical  library.  Imagine  a  man  rehearsing 
the  following  passage  in  a  sermon  anywhere 
outside  of  a  Latin  school  :  "  They  thought  there  was  .  .  . 
in  the  shades  below  no  numbering  of  healths  by  the  nu- 
meral letters  of  Philenium's  name,  no  fat  mullets,  no  oys- 
ters of  Lucrinus,  no  Lesbian  or  Chian  wines.  Therefore 
now  enjoy  the  descending  wines  distilled  through  the  limbec 
of  thy  tongue  and  larynx  ;  suck  the  juices  of  fishes,  and 
the  lard  of  Apulian  swine,  and  the  condited  bellies  of  the 
scarus  :  but  lose  no  time,  for  the  sun  drives  hard,  and  the 
shadow  is  long,  and  the  days  of  mourning  are  at  hand." 
Jeremy  Taylor  preached  this  gospel  to  an  audience  of  less 
than  fifty,  of  whom  possibly  five  remembered  dimly  some- 
thing of  their  studies  of  Horace  at  Oxford,  and  the  rest 
knew  no  more  of  what  the  preacher  meant  than  of  the 
sources  of  the  Nile. 

It  has  been  elsewhere  noticed  that  Charles  Sumner  ob- 
scured his  oratory  by  excessive  indulgence  in  classical  allu- 
sions, which,  even  in  the  United  States  Senate, 

...  .    .  r  Charles  Sumner. 

belong  to  the  dying  reminiscences  of  collegi- 
ate life.  He  used  to  roll  forth  from  a  too  faithful  memory  a 
string  of  classical  recollections,  which  his  hearers  felt  to  be 
untimely  when  the  liberty  of  the  nation  was  trembling  in 
the  scale.  His  opponents  could  charge  upon  him  senti- 
ments which  he  disowned,  because  the  clearness  of  Ins 
meaning  was  obscured  through  the  loss  of  force  occasioned 
7 


98  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

by  illustrative  materials  which  were  not  in  keeping  with  a 
national  emergency. 

4.  Another  cause  of  obscurity  in  the  use  of  imagery  is 
an  excess  of  imagery.  This  may  obscure  the  meaning  by 
An  excess  of  im-  exaggeration.  It  may  produce  the  same  ef- 
aSery-  feet  by  overloading  a  thought.  Imagery  not 
needed  to  illustrate  a  thought  must  tend  to  cover  it  from 
the  hearer's  sight.  A  hearer's  power  of  perception  may  be 
impaired  by  it  through  mental  weariness.  Few  things  are 
so  wearisome  to  the  brain  as  a  rapid  review  of  a  gallery  of 
paintings.  Aside  from  weariness  of  eye,  there  is  an  expen- 
A  gallery  of  diture  of  thought  in  that  which  the  spectator 
paintings.  must  supply  by  his  own  imagination.  An 
excessively  pictorial  style  makes  a  similar  demand,  and  pro- 
duces a  similar  effect.  Mental  weariness  thus  induced 
diminishes  the  clearness  of  a  hearer's  perception.  Such  a 
discourse,  therefore,  lives  in  his  memory,  only  as  a  jumble 
of  pictures. 

The  same  result  may  be  produced,  if  weariness  is  not,  by 
attracting  attention  to  the  style  for  its  own  sake.  Attrac- 
tion to  the  style  is  distraction  from  the  thought.  Edmund 
Burke  often  obscured  an  argument  by  excess  of  imagery. 
Byron  said  of  Curran,  that  he  had  heard  Curran  speak  more 
poetry  than  he  had  ever  seen  written.  It  was  no  compli- 
ment to  an  orator. 

5.  Yet  a  truth  lies  over  against  that  which  has  just  been 
named.  If  excess  of  imagery  may  obscure  one's  meaning, 
Entire  absence  on  tne  other  hand,  it  may  be  obscured  by  the 
of  imagery.  entire  absence  of  imagery  as  well.  Abstract 
thought  often  needs  to  be  made  palpable  :  the  senses  must 
be  called  in  to  the  aid  of  the  intellect.  When  the  meaning 
is  not  positively  vague,  it  is  not  impressively  clear  without 
a  picture.  A  certain  degree  of  dulness  for  the  want  of 
imagery  amounts  to  obscurity.  A  very  simple  book  may  be 
unintelligible  to  a  child  for  the  want  of  pictures. 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  99 

Military  commanders  say,  that  in  battle  it  is  the  eye  which 
is  first  vanquished.  Similar  is  the  experience  of  the  popular 
mind  under  the  sway  of  oral  discourse.  The  The  eye  in  bat- 
first  sign  that  an  audience  has  fairly  taken  tle- 
in  a  speaker's  thought,  and  the  whole  of  it,  may  often 
be  seen  in  a  hearer's  eye.  It  is  often  produced  by  an  illus- 
tration which  has  flashed  the  meaning  upon  his  vision. 

The  most  successful  pleaders  before  juries  are  of  two 
classes.  The  one  class  achieves  success  mainly  by  solid 
logic ;  the  other  class  by  pictorial  vividness.  To  the  latter 
class  belong  nearly  all  the  great  criminal  lawyers  in  modern 
practice. 

Why  did  Judge  Pierrepont,  in  the  trial  of  Surratt  for  the 
assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  parade  before  the  jury 
the  maps  showing  Surratt's  line  of  travel,  the  Judge  Pierre- 
guns  hidden  at  Lloyd's  tavern,  the  diary  of  pont- 
Booth,  his  eye-glass,  and  the  registers  of  the  hotels  at 
which  Surratt  lodged  ?  Not  one  of  these  was  necessary  to 
a  literal  statement  of  the  facts,  and  all  could  have  been 
proved  by  testimony.  But  testimony  could  not  paint  the 
facts  to  the  eye  of  the  jury  as  this  was  done  by  the  table 
on  which  these  mementos  were  spread  out  before  them. 
The  aim  of  the  prosecution  was  a  purely  rhetorical,  not  a 
logical  one.  It  was  to  make  the  facts  more  clear  by  visible 
symbols.  True,  it  was,  in  part,  to  make  the  facts  vivid  as 
well  as  clear  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  two  things. 
Where  the  aim  at  perspicuity  ends,  and  the  aim  at  vividness 
begins,  criticism  cannot  determine.  Perspicuity  is  insured 
if  vividness  is  gained. 

Vividness  and  clearness  differ  only  in  degree.  Do  we 
not  all  obtain  clearness  of  conception  from  the  pictorial 
newspapers  ?  Why  are  pictorial  illustrations  deemed  neces- 
sary to  a  modern  dictionary  of  the  first  class  as  an  aid  to 
definition  ? 


100        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

II. — Perspicuity    as   Affected   by   the   Words  of  Dis- 
course. 

The  course  of  these  discussions  leads  us  now  to  observe 
the  relation  of  perspicuity  of  style  to  the  words  of  a  discourse. 

i.  Obscurity  may  be  induced  by  the  preponderance  in 
style  of  other  than  the  Saxon  elements  of  our  language. 
Absence  of  a  With  no  conscious  cultivation  of  a  Saxon 
Saxon  style.  style,  a  writer  who   is  eminently  clear   will 

possess  a  style  in  which  the  Saxon  words  outnumber  all 
others.  In  the  English  version  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  not 
more  than  one  word  in  eleven  are  of  other  than  Saxon  ori- 
gin. This  is  probably  a  fair  index  to  the  proportions  of 
the  language  as  actually  used  by  the  masses  of  an  English- 
speaking  people.  It  does  not  follow  that  the  same  propor- 
tions are  necessary  to  render  discourse  intelligible  to  them 
from  the  lips  of  others  ;  but  it  does  follow  that  a  style 
which  is  pre-eminent  for  perspicuity  will  be,  in  the  main, 
from  Saxon  roots.  Transparent  discourse  to  a  popular 
audience  will  be  largely  Saxon  in  its  vocabulary.  Discourse 
not  positively  obscure  may  be  difficult  of  comprehension  if 
other  than  a  Saxon  vocabulary  preponderates.  Such  a 
style  as  the  prose  style  of  Milton,  even  though  every  word 
be  authorized  English,  may  require  in  oral  address  a  close- 
ness of  attention  by  the  hearer  which  few  audiences  will 
give. 

Specially  should  the  emphatic  words  of  a  sentence,  if  pos- 
sible, be  Saxon.  What  is  the  defect  of  Edmund  Burke's 
,  „    ,        celebrated   diatribe  against  metaphysicians  ? 

Edmund  Burke.  &  r    J 

"Their  hearts,"  he  says,  "are  like  that  of  the 
principle  of  evil  himself — incorporeal,  pure,  unmixed,  de- 
phlegmated,  defecated  evil."  The  use  of  two  unusual  and 
Latinized  words  obscures  the  climax  of  the  invective.  Few 
hearers  understand  them.     Journalists  especially  are  often 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  101 

affected  in  their  use  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  elements  of 
the  language.  One  writes  of  "  lethal  weapons  :  "  he  could 
not  say  "deadly  weapons,"  for  he  would  "  Lethal  weap- 
have  been  too  easily  understood.  Another  ons-" 
says,  "The  water  was  incarnadined  with  blood  :  "  he  could 
not  say  "reddened  with  blood,"  for  that  would  have  been 
tame.  Other  things  being  equal,  it  adds  much  to  the  trans- 
parency of  style  if  the  resultant  words,  in  which  the  em- 
phasis of  the  idea  lies,  or  the  hinges  on  which  the  connec- 
tion turns,  be  Saxon.  The  people  take  in  the  force  of  such 
words  easily  and  quickly. 

The  thinking  and  the  reading  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people  are  in  Saxon  dialect.  Their  conversation  is  almost 
entirely  Saxon.  Hence,  as  hearers,  they  feel  more  at  home 
with  Saxon  speech  than  with  any  other.  Note  one  or  two 
illustrations  of  a  Saxon  and  a  Latin  dialect  in  contrast. 
When  Noah  had  entered  the  ark,  the  sacred  narrative,  as 
given  by  our  translators,  reads,  "  The  Lord  Noah  entering 
shut  him  in."  Suppose  they  had  translated  the  ark. 
it,  "The  Lord  incarcerated  him."  Contrast  such  a  word  as 
"inculpate"  with  its  synonym  "blame:"  is  there  any 
doubt  which  would  be  most  perspicuous  to  the  popular 
thought  ?  Dr.  Chalmers  once  said  in  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  "  Mr.  Moderator,  I  desiderate 
to  be  informed,"  etc.  Can  it  be  questioned  that  he  would 
have  been  more  promptly  understood  if  he  had  been  con- 
tent to  say,  "  I  wish  to  know  "  ? 

You  will  often  find  that  a  sentence,  every  word  of  which 
may  be  authorized  English,  has  a  sickly  haze  hanging  over 
it,  as  you  imagine  your  utterance  of  it  to  Means  of  remov- 
hearers,  which  is  entirely  due  to  its  Latin  from^ornpo^ 
vocabulary.  It  becomes  transparent  the  in-  SItIon- 
stant  that  you  strike  out  Norman  words  from  the  points  of 
emphasis,  and  put  Saxon  words  in  their  place.  This  sug- 
gests a  means  of  cultivating  a  perspicuous  style  which  is  of 


102        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

special  moment  to  public  speakers  who,  as  Wesley  used  to 
say  to  his  clergy,  "  though  they  think  with  the  learned, 
must  speak  with  the  common  people."  In  oral  address  to 
the  people,  use,  as  far  as  possible,  their  Saxon  vernacular. 

2.  Perspicuity  of  style  may  very  obviously  be  impaired 
by  the  habitual  use  of  ambiguous  words.  Every  highly 
Ambiguous  finished  language  like  our  own  abounds  with 
words,  words  which  have  divergent  and  even  con- 
trasted meanings.  We  speak,  for  example,  of  a  "  nervous 
writer,"  meaning  a  strong  writer  ;  we  speak  of  a  "  nervous 
"  Nervous  woman,"  meaning  a  weak  woman.  We  say, 
writer    and  «  j_je  overlooked  the   transaction,"  meaning 

"  Nervous  '  ° 

woman."  that  he  gave  it  his  supervision  :  we  say,  "  He 

overlooked  the  error,"  meaning  that  he  neglected  to  mark  it. 
De  Quincey  speaks  of  the  "  active  forces  of  human  nature  ;  " 
does  he  mean  those  which  concern  external  action,  or  those 
which  are  vigorous,  as  distinct  from  sluggish  ?  The  con- 
fusion arose  from  the  ambiguity  of  one  word.  Dean  Swift 
spoke  of  "  the  reformation  of  Luther."  His  opponent  un- 
The  reformation  derstood  him  to  mean  the  personal  revolu- 
of  Luther.  ^\on  m  ^q  character  of  Luther.     Ambiguity 

caused  by  the  location  of  so  insignificant  a  word  as  the  prep- 
osition "  of  "  clouded  a  page.  In  the  eighth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  St.  Paul  is  represented  as  saying, 
"  Neither  death  nor  life  .  .  .  shall  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God."  Commentators  tell  us  that  this  may 
mean  the  love  of  God  to  his  people,  or  their  love  to  him. 
Here,  again,  the  insignificant  preposition  becomes  the  em- 
phatic hinge  on  which  the  meaning  turns.  "  What  I  want" 
said  a  pompous  orator,  "is  common  sense." — "Exactly 
so  !  "  said  his  antagonist. 

3.  Obscurity  of  style  may  be  caused  by  an  excessive  use 
of  general  and  abstract  words.  Oral  discourse  especially 
demands  a  specific  and  concrete  vocabulary.  An  inordi- 
nate use  of  philosophic  terms,  however  intelligible  each  one 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STY  IE  103 

may  be,  will  often  obscure  an  idea  by  the  number  of  such 
terms.  Be  wary  in  multiplying  such  words  as  "  organic," 
"relations,"  "  proportions,"  "  unison,"  "  cau-  General  for 
sality,"  "potential,"  "transcendent,"  "subsid-  specific  words, 
iary,"  "correlative,"  "objective,"  "subjective."  A  style  in 
which  such  words  are  the  staple  of  expression  may  throw 
a  fog  over  a  subject  which  would  otherwise  lie  in  sunlight. 

4.  Affectation  in  style  may  take  the  form  of  an  evasion  of 
concrete  expression.  Simple,  homely,  specific  words,  which 
a  man's  good  sense  first  suggests  to  him,  are  Abstract  for 
then  abandoned,  and  he  seeks  to  lift  up  his  concrete  words, 
thoughts  by  the  leverage  of  grandiose  phraseology.  Says 
one  writer  of  this  sort,  "  There  is  some  subtle  essence  per- 
meating the  elementary  constitution  of  crime,  which  so 
operates,  that  men  become  its  involuntary  followers  by  the 
sheer  force  of  attraction,  as  it  were."  One  can  "expis- 
cate  "  an  idea  from  this  language  (to  use  one  of  Hugh 
Miller's  ambitious  words) ;  but  we  cannot  catch  it  as  it  flies 
in  oral  speech.  A  recent  political  writer  describes  a  cele- 
brated contemporary  as  a  "  republican  of  progressive  integ- 
rity." What  does  he  mean  ?  If  a  critic  may  extort  an 
idea  from  the  language,  can  a  hearer  do  so  on  the  spur  of  a 
moment  ? 

5.  Another  occasion  of  obscurity  in  the  use  of  language 
is  an  excessive  diffusiveness.  Ben  Jonson  speaks  aptly  of 
a  "  corpulent  style."  Such  a  style  weakens  Excessive 
the  momentum  of  thought.  An  idea  some-  diffuseness. 
times  depends  for  its  clearness  on  the  stimulus  to  attention 
which  springs  from  quick  movement.  The  corpulent  dic- 
tion is  ponderous  and'slow.  Is  your  thought  abstract,  and 
therefore,  not  easily  comprehended  ?  Then  let  it  be  packed 
into  few  words,  and  discharged  upon  an  audience  like  the 
load  of  a  musket.  Perspicuity  depends  on  the  state  of 
the  hearer's  thinking  as  much  as  on  the  speaker's  thought. 
Some  thoughts  we  cannot  make  clearer  than  they  are  by  the 


104        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

mechanism  of  style  :  something  is  needed  to  quicken  the 
hearer's  faculty  of  perception.  Laconic  utterance  will  often 
do  this.  You  can  be  hit  by  a  puff-ball  and  not  know  it  ; 
not  so  if  you  are  hit  by  a  bullet.  Similar  is  the  difference 
between  the  diffuse  and  the  condensed  style  as  a  means  of 
stimulus  to  the  hearer's  thinking  power. 

Preambles,  reports  of  committees,  diplomatic  resolves,  are 

often  obscure   through  mere  distention  of  style.     The  au- 

.  thors  beat  about  the  bush  in  fear  of  saying;  a 

Report  of  a  J      & 

street  railway  thing  shortly.  A  committee  on  street  rail- 
ways reports  to  the  Legislature  of  New  York 
in  this  manner  :  "  It  is  not  to  be  denied,  that  any  system 
which  demands  the  propulsion  of  cars  at  a  rapid  rate,  at  an 
elevation  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  is  not  entirely  consistent, 
in  the  public  estimation,  with  the  greatest  attainable  immu- 
nity from  the  dangers  of  transportation."  No  style  de- 
serves to  be  called  perspicuous  which  needs  a  second  read- 
ing. This  specimen  does  so.  What  is  the  sense  of  it 
expressed  shortly  ?  Abandon  the  negative  circumlocution, 
exchange  long  words  for  short  ones,  and  speak  without  in- 
direction. Then  the  statement  is  reduced  to  this :  "  It  is 
true  that  people  think  that  a  railway  twenty  feet  above  the 
street  is  dangerous."  That  is  all  that  the  honorable  com- 
mittee meant.  But  it  does  not  sound  elaborate  :  therefore, 
the  idea  was  bloated  into  the  aldermanic  diction. 

Herbert  Spencer  founds  the  whole  theory  of  style  on  the 
principle  of  economizing  the  mental  force  of  hearers.  Any- 
Herbert  Spen-  thing  that  economizes  attention  without  loss 
cer-  of  perception  adds  to  the    clearness   of    an 

idea.  Therefore  a  style  which  taxes  attention  by  needless 
circumlocution  tends  to  produce  obscurity.  The  power  of 
attention  in  the  most  willing  audiences  is  limited  :  beyond 
its  limit,  speech  to  them  is  nothing  but  words. 

6.  A  certain  cause  of  obscurity  in  style  is  the  opposite  of 
the  one  last  named.     It  is  excess  of  conciseness.     In  mod- 


PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE  105 

erate  degree,  as  we  have  observed,  conciseness  is  an  aid  to 
precision,  but  in  excess  impairs  it  :  so,  in  moderate  degree, 
conciseness  promotes  perspicuity,  but  in  ex-  An  excessive 

cess  clouds  it.     Hence  arises  the  difficulty  of  conciseness. 

translating  sententious  authors.  In  all  languages  is  found 
a  class  of  authors,  who,  like  Tacitus,  lay  too  heavy  a  tax 
upon  interpreters  by  the  multitude  of  their  suppressed 
words.  An  excessively  elliptical  style  cannot  be  a  very 
clear  style. 

But  it  should  be  remarked  that  in  oral  speech,  the  per- 
spicuity of  laconic  utterance  depends  partly  on  elocution. 
Aided  by  an  animated  delivery,  complete  thoughts  may  be 
conveyed  by  hints.  A  shrug  of  the  shoulder  may  express 
a  thought  without  words.  Pantomime  may  be  made  trans- 
parent. An  Italian  talks  with  his  fingers.  Some  speakers 
can  express  more  by  their  eyebrows  than  by  their  tongues. 
This  effect  cannot  he  put  on  tame  discourse  ;  but,  if  the  force 
of  thought  admits  it,  delivery  becomes  the  complement  of 
language.  The  hearer's  receptive  power  is  quickened. 
Tone,  look,  gesture,  attitude,  mean  as  much  to  him  as 
words.  Bold  words,  unqualified  words,  extravagant  words, 
the  extreme  of  hyperbole,  may  not  be  misunderstood  with 
such  a  commentary  of  action.  False  words  may  not  deceive  : 
contradictions  may  be  true.  Of  American  speakers  on  the 
platform,  John  B.  Gough  presented  a  notable  example  of 
this  tribute  of  elocution  to  style.  Mr.  Gough  in  pantomime 
could  express  more  than  some  public  speakers  who  read 
without  delivery. 

ANALYSIS. 

PERSPICUITY   OF   STYLE   (CONTINUED). 

I.   Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  the  Use  of  Imagery. 

1.  Incongruous  Imagery. 

2.  Mixed  Imagery. 

3.  Learned  Imagery. 


106        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

4.  An  Excess  of  Imagery. 

5.  Entire  Absence  of  Imagery. 

II.   Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  the  Words  of  Discourse. 

1.  By  Absence  of  a  Saxon  Style. 

2.  By  Use  of  Ambiguous  Words. 

3.  By  Use  of  General  for  Specific  Words. 

4.  By  Use  of  Abstract  for  Concrete  Words. 

5.  By  Excessive  Diffuseness. 

6.  By  Excessive  Conciseness. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  (CONTINUED) 

I. — Perspicuity  as  Affected  by  Construction. 

A  studious  writer,  and  especially  one  whose  work  com- 
pels a  careful  adjustment  of  language  to  the  receptive 
powers  of  a  mixed  assembly,  soon  learns  that  the  perspi- 
cuity of  style  is  vitally  dependent  on  clearness  of  construction. 
Construction  is  as  vital  to  style  as  to  architecture. 

i.  Monotony  of  construction  tends  to  obscurity.  It 
lulls  the  thinking  power.  It  almost  necessitates  monotone 
in  delivery. 

2.  Circumlocution  in  construction  tends  to  obscurity. 
Did  you  never  discover  the  cause  of  a  certain  dimness  of 
impression  in  the  want  of  quick  movement  of  discourse  ? 
The  speaker's  thought  is  a  stone  in  a  sling  from  which  it  is 
never  ejected.  He  talks  around,  and  around,  and  around  ; 
yet  you  do  not  see  the  upshot  of  the  business. 

3.  Abruptness  of  construction  tends  to  obscurity.  Why 
is  Carlyle's  "  French  Revolution  "  hard  reading  ?  Mainly 
because  of  the  jerks  in  style,  by  which  English  syntax  is  so 
rudely  dealt  with  that  half  your  mental  force  is  expended  in 
re-adjusting  words  to  sense.  Any  defect  which  is  pervasive 
in  style  tends  so  far  to  defeat  the  object  of  speech.  Yet 
very  little  is  achieved  if  criticism  ends  with  such  general 
observations  as  these.  Some  specifications  in  detail  are, 
therefore,  necessary  to  illustrate  the  kind  of  criticism  to 
which  every  man  should  subject  his  own  productions. 


108         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

II. — Special    Defects  in  Perspicuity  of  Construction. 

i.  Recalling  the  fact  observed  in  a  former  Chapter, 
that  defects  in  precision  of  construction,  and  defects  in 
perspicuity  of  construction,  are  the  same  in  kind,  differing 
only  in  degree,  we  may  profitably  note  as  one  source  of 
Pronouns  and  obscurity  a  defective  arrangement  of  pronouns 
antecedents.  anj    their   antecedents.     Alison   the   historian 

says  of  the  Russian  soldiers,  upon  their  entry  into  Dresden, 
"  They  lay  down  to  rest  behind  their  steeds,  picketed  to  the 
walls,  which  had  accompanied   them  from  the  Volga  to  the 
Don."     "  Which  "  logically  refers  to  "  steeds,"  grammati- 
cally to  the  "walls."     Immediate  proximity 
does  not  always  decide   the  natural  connec- 
tion  between  a  pronoun   and    its    antecedent.     A   distant 
antecedent  sometimes  by  its  prominence  may  displace  the 
nearer  and  the   true  one.     Prior,   in  his  "  Life  of  Burke," 
writes,  "  The  war  then  exciting  attention  to 
the  American  Colonies  as  one  of   the  chief 
points  in  dispute,  they  came  out  in  two   volumes  octavo." 
Who  are  "  they  "  ?     He  means  that  the  chief  points  in  dis- 
pute were  then  published  ;  and  so  grammatical  connection 
would  indicate.     But  the  construction  leads  one  to  suppose 
that  the  American   Colonies  were  the  publishers  ;  yet  the 
word  "colonies  "  is  the  more  remote  antecedent.     Proxim- 
ity, then,  cannot  always  be  trusted  to  determine  the  ques- 
tion.    Dr.  Chalmers,  in  a  speech  on  Christian 

Dr.  Chalmers.  .  .  . 

union,  says,  "  I  am  not  aware  of  any  topics 
of  difference  which  I  do  not  regard  as  so  many  men  of 
straw  ;  and  I  shall  be  delighted  if  these  gentlemen  get  the 
heads  of  the  various  denominations  together,  and  make  a 
bonfire  of  them"  Bonfire  of  what,  or  of  whom? — of  the 
"  men  of  straw,"  or  of  the  "  heads  of  the  denominations  "  ? 
Here,  again,  proximity  does  not  settle  the  question.  The 
more  remote  antecedent  is  the  true  one. 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  109 

2.  Sometimes  confusion  is  created  by  the  repetition  of 
the  same  pronoun  with  different  antecedents.  Archbishop 
Tillotson  writes:  "Men  look  with  an  evil  Repetition  of  the 
eye  upon  the  good  that  is  in  others,  and  ™  £™ 
think  that  their  reputation  obscures  them,  and  antecedents. 
that  their  commendable  qualities  do  stand  in  their  light ; 
and  therefore  they  do  what  they  can  to  cast  a  cloud  over 
them,  that  the  shining  of  their  virtues  may  not  obscure 
them."  Who  are  "they"?  Who  are  "them"?  What  is 
"  their "  ?  What,  who,  which,  is  anything  in  this  round- 
robin  of  pronouns  ?  A  burlesque  on  grammatical  antece- 
dents could  not  be  more  adroitly  executed. 

Sometimes  this  defect  amounts  to  a  blundering  oblivious- 
ness of  all  antecedence.  The  following  tearful  reproof  was 
given  by  a  judge  of  the  State  of  New  York  to  a  prisoner 
just  convicted  :  "Prisoner  at  the  bar,  nature  has  endowed 
you  with  a  good  education  and  respectable  A  judge's  re- 
family  connections,  instead  of  which  you  go  proof. 
around  the  country  stealing  ducks."  This  is  found  among 
the  "  Humors  of  the  Day."  But  in  what  is  it  essentially 
less  elegant  or  accurate  than  the  following,  from  Loring's 
"  Hundred  Boston  Orators "  ?  "  William  Sullivan  was 
grandson  of  John  Sullivan,  who  came  from  "  Hundred  Bos- 
Ireland  in  a  ship  which  was  driven  by  stress  ton  °rators-" 
of  weather  into  a  port  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  settled  at 
Berwick."  How  did  John  Sullivan's  ship  reach  Berwick  ? 
Is  Berwick  one  of  the  ports  on  the  coast  of  Maine  ?  Again 
he  writes  :  "  His  oration  produced  such  a  strong  impression 
that  it  led  to  his  election  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  was  afterwards  elected  to  the  Senate."  Are  orations 
eligible  to  the  Senate  in  Massachusetts  ? 

This  blundering  in  antecedence  is  often  burlesqued  by 
Dickens.  His  colloquial  pictures  of  low  life  are  full  of 
it.  In  the  extreme  it  marks  the  absolute  absence  of  cult- 
ure.    Bret  Harte  illustrates  this  in  the  "  Heathen  Chinee." 


IIO        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

"  Which  I  wish  to  remark,"  says  "  truthful  James  ;"  and 
again,  "which  we  had  a  small  game." 

This  defect  sometimes  destroys,  not  only  the  finish  of  an 
elegant  style,  but  the  very  substance  of  the  speaker's  mean- 
ing. The  following  incident  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States  Senate  will  illustrate  this  : 

The  7th  of  March,  1850,  was  a  critical  date  in  the  career 

of  Daniel  Webster.     He  then  delivered  his  last  great  speech 

in  the  Senate.    It  was  in  defence  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

The    country   rang  with   denunciations   and 

Daniel  Webster.  J  &         , 

defences  of  that  speech  till  he  died.  One  of 
the  most  effective  anathemas  upon  it  depended  on  the  an- 
tecedent of  a  pronoun.  As  reported  at  first,  the  speech 
read  thus:  "  Mr.  Mason's  bill,  with  some  amendments,  which 
I  propose  to  support  to  its  full  extent."  This  committed 
Mr.  Webster  to  the  bill  as  it  then  stood  with  amendments 
then  before  the  Senate.  Some  of  those  amendments  were 
deemed  by  antislavery  men  the  most  atrocious  feature  of 
the  bill.  "But,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "  I  have  been  misre- 
ported.  What  I  said  was  this,  'Mr.  Mason's  bill,  which, 
with  some  amendments,  I  propose  to  support  in  its  full  ex- 
tent.' '  This  committed  him  to  the  bill  indeed,  but  with 
amendments  of  his  own,  which  might  ameliorate  the  bill, 
and  render  it  less  objectionable  to  his  constituents.  His 
reputation  with  them  hung  for  a  time  upon  the  syntax  of  that 
one  sentence.  The  death  of  the  great  statesman  two  years 
later  was  attributed  by  many  -to  his  loss  of  the  nomination 
and  election  to  the  Presidency.  If  this  was  true,  his  epitaph 
might  have  been  inscribed,  with  more  truth  than  is  common 
to  epitaphs,  "  Died  of  the  dislocation  of  a  relative  pronoun." 
Few  writers  exist  who  do  not  sometimes  blunder  in  the 
adjustment  of  pronouns  to  their  antecedents.  Says  Rein- 
„  .  ,     ,        hard,  in  his  "  Memoirs  and  Confessions,"   "  I 

Reinhard. 

have  always  had  difficulty  in  making  a  proper 
use  of  pronouns.     Indeed,  I  have  taken  great  pains  so  to  use 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  III 

them  that  ambiguity  should  be  impossible,  and  yet  have 
often  failed  in  the  attempt."  If  a  careful  writer  and  a 
practised  critic  often  failed,  what  can  be  expected  from  a 
reckless  writer,  to  whom  study  of  style  appears  contempt- 
ible ? 

3.  A  similar  source  of  obscurity  in  construction  is  a  de- 
fective arrangement  of  adjectives  and  adverbs.  Adjectives 
and  adverbs  are  qualifying  words.  This  is  Adjectives  and 
their  sole  use.  What  do  they  qualify  ?  is  adverbs, 
often  a  capital  inquiry,  on  which  the  whole  sense  depends. 
"  Such  was  the  end  of  Murat  at  the  premature  age  of  forty- 
eight  :  "  so  writes  Alison.  His  construction  does  not 
make  sense  :  Murat's  age  could  not  be  "  premature."  Did 
he  reach  the  fatal  age  of  forty-eight  in  less  time  than  his 
contemporaries  ?  Alison  means  to  say,  Such  was  the  pre- 
mature end  of  Murat,"  etc. 

"  The  command  was  reluctantly  forced  upon  Prince 
Eugene,"  he  writes.  Did  Napoleon,  then,  act  against  his 
own  will  ?     The   historian   says  that,  but  the 

,•  ,  1  Alison. 

connection  shows  that  he  did  not  mean  that. 
He  meant  to  say,  that  the  command  was  received  with  re- 
luctance. Again  he  writes,  in  speaking  of  Napoleon  :  "  He 
could  only  live  in  agitation  ;  he  could  only  breathe  in  a 
volcanic  atmosphere."  That  is  to  say,  in  agitation  and  in  a 
volcanic  atmosphere,  all  that  he  could  do  was  to  live  and 
to  breathe.  Good  sense  is  this,  but  just  the  sense  which 
Alison  did  not  mean.  Change  the  location  of  the  adverb, 
and  you  perceive  what  he  did  mean,  "He  could  live  only  in 
agitation  ;  he  could  breathe  only  in  a  volcanic  atmosphere." 
Once  more  :  "  When  Napoleon's  system  of  government  be- 
came unfortunate  alone,  it  was  felt  to  be  insupportable." 
Does  he  mean  that  it  became  insupportable  when  misfort- 
une found  it  without  allies  ?  Not  at  all.  He  means  to 
say,  "  Only  when  Napoleon's  system  of  government  became 
unfortunate,  it  was  felt  to  be  insupportable." 


112         RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  TRACTICE 

The  location  of  an  adverb  is  one  of  the  most  perplexing 
details  of  composition.  One  must  have  a  very  well  trained 
and  quick  taste  to  decide  upon  it  intuitively 
with  uniform  accuracy.  Take,  for  example 
the  word  "  only,"  which  is  sometimes  adverbial,  and  some- 
times adjective,  in  its  qualifying  force.  Notice  in  Gib- 
bon's History  a  sentence  of  moderate  length,  which  con- 
tains the  word.  Observe  how  many  distinct  meanings  may 
be  obtained  by  simply  sliding  it  gradually  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  the  sentence. 

First.  "  Only  they  forgot  to  observe,  that,  in  the  first  ages 

of  society,  a  successful  war  against  savage  animals  is  one 

of  the  most  beneficial  labors  of  heroism  ;  " 

Example  from  .  ,.    , 

Gibbon's  His-  that  is,  they  did  some  things  well,  but  one 
thing  not  well — "  they  forgot  to  observe," 
etc.  Secondly,  "  They  only  forgot  to  observe,"  etc.,  that 
is,  either  they  were  the  only  persons  who  did  so  ;  or, 
thirdly,  they  did  not  intentionally  neglect  the  fact,  they 
only  forgot  it.  Fourthly,  "  They  forgot  to  observe,  that 
only  in  the  first  ages  of  society,"  etc.  ;  that  is,  there  is  but 
one  period  in  the  history  of  society  in  which  the  fact 
observed  is  true.  Fifthly,  "  They  forgot  to  observe,  that, 
in  the  first  ages  only  of  society"  etc.  ;  that  is,  it  is  not  true 
in  the  ages  preceding  organized  social  life.  Sixthly, 
"They  forgot  to  observe,  that,  in  the  first  ages  of  so- 
ciety, only  a  successful  war  against  savage  animals," 
etc.  ;  that  is,  not  war  which  is  a  failure.  Seventhly, 
"  They  forgot  to  observe,  that,  in  the  first  ages  of  society, 
a  successful  war  only  against  savage  animals,"  etc.  ;  that  is, 
not  a  war  for  their  preservation.  Eighthly,  "  They  forgot 
to  observe,  that,  in  the  first  ages  of  society,  a  successful 
war  against  only  savage  animals,"  etc. ;  that  is,  not  a  war 
against  animals  of  domestic  use.  Ninthly,  "  They  forgot  to 
observe,  etc.,  war  against  savage  animals  is  only  one  of  the 
most   beneficial    labors  ; "    that   is,    there   are   other   such 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  II3 

labors  of  heroism.  Tenthly,  "  They  forgot  to  observe,  etc., 
a  successful  war  against  savage  animals  is  one  of  only  the 
most  beneficial  labors  of  heroism  ;  "  that  is,  it  is  not  to  be 
deemed  a  labor  of  inferior  worth  ;  or,  eleventhly,  "  They 
forgot  to  observe,  etc.,  that  such  a  war  is  one  of  only  the 
most  beneficial  labors  of  heroism  ;  "  that  is,  it  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  pastime.  Twelfthly,  "  They  forgot  to  ob- 
serve, that,  etc.,  is  one  of  the  most  beneficial  labors  of  hero- 
ism only  ;  "  that  is,  no  virtue  inferior  to  heroism  is  com- 
petent to  the  task. 

Here  are  no  less  than  twelve  distinct  shades  of  thought, 
not  all  of  them  elegantly,  not  all  precisely,  but  all  perspic- 
uously, expressed,  with  the  aid  of  emphasis  in  the  reading, 
by  simply  sliding  one  word  from  point  to  point  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  a  sentence  of  but  twenty-seven 
words. 

It  is  said  in  one  of  our  standard  text-books  on  rhetoric, 
that  it  has  been  proved  by  experiment,  that  the  line  in  one 
of  Gray's  poems, 

"  The  plowman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way," 

can  by  transposition  be  read  in  eighteen  different  ways 
without  losing  good  English  sense.  The  Different  read. 
words  of  the  line  are  susceptible  of  over  ings  of  a  line  of 
five  thousand  different  combinations.  One  po 
writer  adduces  a  sentence  of  which  the  words  are  suscept- 
ible of  four  hundred  and  seventy-nine  millions  of  distinct 
combinations.  A  curious  writer  transcrib-  Djfferent  read- 
ing them  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a  day       ings  of  a  single 

sentence 

would  complete  the  record  in  thirteen  hun- 
dred and  twelve  years.     Irt  the  same  proportion  of  gram- 
matical   constructions    to    alphabetic    combinations    which 
exists   in  the  possibilities   of  the  line   from  Gray,  the   ele- 
ments of  this  sentence  would  admit  of  more  than  seventeen 


114        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  TRACTICE 

hundred  thousand  grammatical  sentences.  This  illustrates 
the  degree  of  peril  to  which  a  careless  writer  is  exposed,  of 
saying  what  he  does  not  mean.  It  illustrates  also,  the  diffi- 
culty which  a  critical  writer  may  experience  in  saying  with 
perfect  perspicuity  what  he  does  mean. 

De  Quincey  confirms  this  view.  In  some  remarks  on  the 
writings  of  St.  Paul  he  observes  :  "  People  who  have  prac- 
tised composition  as  much  and  with  as  vigilant  an  eye  as 
myself  know  also,  by  thousands  of  cases,  how  infinite  is  the 
disturbance  caused  in  the  logic  of  a  thought  by  the  mere 
position  of  a  word  so  despicable  as  the  word  '  even.'  .  .  . 
The  station  of  a  syllable  may  cloud  the  judgment  of  a 
council." 

4.  Obscurity  in  construction  may  be  caused  by  a  defective 
arrangement  of  the  qualifying  clauses  of  a  sentence.  The 
Qualifying  "aws  which  govern  qualifying  clauses  are  the 

clauses.  same    with    those    which    govern    qualifying 

words.  The  danger  of  obscurity  is  therefore  the  same. 
"  When  the  foundation  of  the  Pagan  mythology  gave  way 
the  whole  superstructure,  of  necessity,  fell  to  the  ground  :  " 
thus  writes  that  "  vigilant "  writer  De  Quincey,  in  one  of 
his  philosophical  essays.  Did  the  Pagan  doctrine  of  "  ne- 
cessity "  depend  on  the  Pagan  mythology  ?  and  did  he 
mean  to  say  that  ?  He  does  say  it.  "  I  know  not  how 
they  can  be  saved  from  perishing  there  by  famine,  without 
parliamentary  assistance  ;  "  so  writes  Robert  Southey,  in 
one  of  his  letters.  Did  the  absence  of  parliamentary  aid 
aggravate  the  evil  of  death  by  starvation  ?  and  did  he  mean 
to  imply  that  ?  He  does  imply  it.  An  affectionate  fare- 
well was  that  recorded  by  an  editor  in  Connecticut,  who 
published  the  item  of  local  news,  that  a  man  down  there 
"  blew  out  his  brains,  after  bidding  his  wife  good-by,  with  a 
shot-gun."  But  enough  :  such  constructions  doom  them- 
selves. 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  1 1  5 

ANALYSIS. 
PERSPICUITY   OF   STYLE  (CONTINUED). 

I.  Perspicuity  as  affected  by  Construction. 

i.  Monotony  of  Construction. 

2.  Circumlocution  of  Construction. 

3.  Abruptness  of  Construction. 

II.  Special  Defects  in  Perspicuity  of  Construction. 

1.  Defective  Arrangement  of  Pronouns  and  Antecedents. 

(a)  Blunders  by  Alison,  Prior,  Dr.  Chalmers. 

2.  Repetition  of  Pronouns  with  Different  Antecedents. 

(a)  Examples  from  "  Hundred  Boston  Orators." 

(b)  Daniel  Webster  and  Mr.  Mason's  Bill. 

3.  Defective  Arrangement  of  Adjectives  and  Adverbs. 

(a)  Alison  writing  of  Murat  and  Napoleon. 

(b)  Use  of  Only,  and  Example  from  Gibbon's  History. 

(c)  Different  Readings  of  a  Line  of  Poetry  and  of  a  Single 

Sentence. 

4.  Defective  Arrangement  of  Qualifying  Clauses. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

PERSPICUITY   OF   STYLE    (CONCLUDED) 

I. — Special    Defects  in    Perspicuity  of   Construction, 

Continued. 

i.  Another  occasion   of  obscure  construction  may  be  a 

failure  to  express  the  true  order  of  thought  in  the  emphatic 

„    Portions  of  a  sentence.     We  have  iust  been 

Wrong  order  of     -*  _  .  J 

thought  in  the       considering  obscurity  in   secondary  clauses. 

whole  structure.      r„,  •,         c,  '  j  .1  11 

I  he  same  evil  often  pervades  the  whole 
structure.  The  order  of  succession  is  no  order  ;  it  jumbles 
the  sense  ;  it  is  chaos.  Dr.  Johnson  writes  :  "  This  work 
in  its  full  extent,  being  now  afflicted  with  the  asthma,  he 
had  not  the  courage  to  undertake."  Who,  what,  which,  had 
the  asthma  ?  An  express  company  advertises  that  it  "  will 
not  be  responsible  for  loss  by  fire,  or  the  acts  of  God,  or 
Indians,  or  other  enemies  of  the  government."  East  Ten- 
nessee has  a  tombstone  on  which  is  inscribed  this  epitaph  : 
"  She  lived  a  life  of  virtue,  and  died  of  cholera-morbus 
caused  by  eating  green  fruit  in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  im- 
mortality. Go  thou  and  do  likewise."  On  a  tombstone  in 
a  churchyard  in  Ulster,  Ireland,  is  the  following:  "Erected 
to  the  memory  of  John  Phillips,  accidentally  shot,  as  a 
mark  of  affection  by  his  brother."  Who  can  solve  the  enig- 
ma, that  epitaphs  are  such  a  storehouse  of  rhetorical  blun- 
ders ?  Is  the  world  of  the  living  in  conspiracy  to  burlesque 
the  dead  ?  It  is  no  sufficient  apology  for  such  errors  that 
they  are  detected  as  soon  as  seen.  That  is  the  acme  of  the 
evil  :   hearers  detect  them  as  well.     A  public  speaker  needs 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  WJ 

such  a  habit  of  mental  command  of  construction,  that  he 
shall  unconsciously  eject  such  blunders  from  his  style  in  the 
heat  and  swift  movement  of  composition.  Style  must  be  as 
nimble  as  thought. 

2.  Obscure  construction  is  often  due  to  an  excessive  or 
careless  use  of  ellipsis.  "  He  must  be  an  irreparable  loss  to 
his  family  :  "  so  writes  Dr.  Arnold,  in  a  letter    _ 

J  m  \  Excessive   or 

of  condolence.  The  error  is  not  infrequent  careless  use  of 
in  the  colloquial  style  of  cultivated  people.  e  ipsis' 
The  ellipsis  is  unwarrantable,  for  some  such  construction  as 
this  :  "  His  decease  occasions  an  irreparable  loss  to  his 
family."  "  The  French  Government  made  great  exertions 
to  put  their  navy  on  a  respectable  footing  ;  but  all  their  ef- 
forts on  that  element  resulted  in  disaster."  On  what  ele- 
ment ?  The  writer,  Alison,  has  named  none  in  the 
context.  Alison's  History  abounds  with  such  misconstruc- 
tions :  search  for  them  anywhere  ;  you  cannot  go  wrong. 

A  common  instance  of  a  careless  use  of  ellipsis,  which 
calls  for  reconstruction,  is  found  in  certain  forms  of  inverted 
sentence.  "Conscious  of  his  own  impor-  The  inverted 
tance,  the  aid  of  others  was  not  solicited."  sentence- 
The  biographer  of  Curran  writes  of  him  :  "  Eminent  at  the 
bar,  it  is  in  Parliament  we  see  his  faculties  in  full  develop- 
ment." You  cannot  parse  these  sentences  by  the  rules  of 
English  syntax.  When  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harris  was  inaug- 
urated to  the  presidency  of  Bowdoin  College,  the  clergyman 
appointed  to  deliver  the  address  of  induction  began  thus  : 
"Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  sir,  having  been  elected  An  address  of  in- 
president  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  ductlon' 
boards  of  trustees  and  overseers  of  Bowdoin  College,  I 
come  on  their  behalf  to  induct  you,"  etc.  Grammati- 
cally this  implies  that  the  orator  appointed  to  give  the  ad- 
dress was  the  president-elect.  To  express  the  real  meaning 
with  grammatical  precision,  the  whole  sentence  must  be  re- 
constructed, or  broken  into  two. 


Il8         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

A  frequent  form  of  careless  use  of  ellipsis  occurs  in  cases 
in  which  the  phrases  "  the  one  "  and  "  the  other,"  or  "  the 
The  one  and  the  former"  and  "the  latter,"  are  employed. 
other.  Not   always   are    these    forms    obscure,    but 

they  always  need  to  be  scrutinized.  Specially  if  they  are 
repeated  in  a  series  of  antithetic  declarations,  they  need 
extreme  care. 

Another  form  of  ellipsis  which  may  easily  degenerate  into 

obscure  construction  is  that  of  a  hypothetical  expression  of 

.     ,  an  alternative.      An    example   must  explain 

Alternative  hy- 

potheticaiiy ex-  this..  "If  this  trade  be  fostered,  we  shall 
pr(  gain  from  one  nation  ;  and  if  another,  from 

another."  "  If  we  hold  to  the  faith  of  the  church,  we  shall 
have  the  confidence  of  the  church  ;  and  if  not,  not."  Such 
ellipses  as  these  carry  the  idiom  to  its  extreme.  The  sub- 
ject must  be  very  simple,  and  the  thought  very  direct,  to 
render  them  perspicuous.  We  cannot,  for  this  reason,  ex- 
clude all  extreme  ellipses  :  we  can  only  say  that  they 
should  be  studiously,  and  not  abundantly  used.  If  such  a 
construction  suggests  a  doubt  of  its  clearness,  let  it  be 
abandoned. 

In  Froude's  "  History  of  England  "  we  find  this  sentence  : 

"  Had  Darnley  proved  the  useful  Catholic  which  the  Queen 

intended   him  to  be,  they  would   have   sent 

Froude. 

him  to  his  account  with  as  small  compunc- 
tion as  Jael  sent  the  Canaanite  captain  ;  or  they  would  have 
blessed  the  arm  that  did  it,  with  as  much  eloquence  as  Deb- 
orah." Grant  White  indicates  the  excessive  omission  of 
needed  words  in  this  example  by  inquiring,  "  How  small 
compunction  did  Jael  send  the  Canaanite  captain  ?  What 
degree  of  eloquence  did  the  arm  attain  that  did  it  with  as 
much  as  Deborah  ?  What  was  it?  How  much  eloquence 
was  Deborah  ?  "  Style  which  suggests  such  blind  queries 
is  slovenly.  The  connection  may  prevent  obscurity,  but  not 
a  loss  of  precision.     Style  in  which  such  looseness  is  in- 


PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE  119 

dulged  will  often  degenerate  from  the  loose  to  the  obscure. 
The  step  between  is  not  so  long  as  that  between  the  sub- 
lime and  the  ridiculous. 

3.  A  still  further  cause  of  obscurity  in  construction  is  an 
abuse  of  the  parenthesis.     Parenthesis  may  cause  obscurity 
by  its  position.     It  may  be  so  located  as  to    Abuse  of  the 
break  the  flow  of  sense.     It  may  separate  a    parenthesis. 
verb   from    its   nominative   by   too   large   a  hiatus.     Some 
writers  thus  put  into  an  English  sentence  the  peculiarities 
of  Latin  syntax.     A  Roman  ear  could  bear  in  this  respect 
what  an  English  ear  cannot.     A  parenthesis 
is  a  chasm  :  the  hearer  must  be  able  to  vault 
over  it.     Not  all  hearers  are  agile  enough  to  do  that,  if  the 
position  of  the  parenthesis  holds  asunder  vital  and  emphatic 
fragments  of  the  thought. 

Parenthesis,  again,  may  cause  obscurity  by  its  length.  It 
is  a  digression.  If  it  be  of  excessive  length,  it  may  impair 
the  recollection  of  that  which   went  before, 

.  .  ....  r  Digression. 

and  attention  to  that  which  comes  after. 
One  of  the  difficulties  in  interpreting  the  style  of  St.  Paul 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  the  abundance  of  paren- 
thetical enclosures  of  the  inspired  thought.  Parenthesis 
may  also  obscure  the  sense  by  the  form  of  parenthesis 
within  a  parenthesis.  An  amendment  to  an  amendment,  a 
patch  upon  a  patch,  a  wheel  within  a  wheel,  are  bewildering. 
Rarely  is  such  an  involuted  style  suited  to  oral  speech. 

Abuse  of  parenthesis  is  one  cause  of  the  obscurity  of 
German  constructions.  A  German  sentence  is  often  a 
conglomeration,  rather  than  an  arrangement  German  con- 
of  materials.  It  is  voluminous  rather  than  structions. 
lucid.  One  critic  says  that  there  are  books  in  German 
which  consist  of  one  or  two  enormous,  overgrown,  plethoric 
sentences.  De  Quincey  criticises  the  German  sentence  as 
an  arch  between  the  rising  and  the  setting  sun.  He  de- 
clares that  a  sentence  by  Kant  was  once  measured  by  a  car- 


120        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

penter,  and  found  to  be  a  foot  and  eight  inches  long. 
When  not  parenthetic  in  form,  a  sentence  may  be  so  in  fact. 
A  reader  of  it  must  make  it  so  in  order  to  deliver  the  sense 
well.  A  multiplication  of  interdependent  yet  loosely  jointed 
clauses  may  have  the  effect  of  the  extreme  abuse  of  paren- 
thesis. To  recur  once  more  to  the  most  affluent  source  of 
rhetorical  blunders,  Alison's  History,  observe  the  following, 
viz.: 

"  Nations,  like  individuals,  were  not  destined  for  immor- 
tality." This  is  the  thought  in  a  nutshell.  Now  observe 
how  he  expands  it.  "  In  their  virtues  equally 
as  their  vices,  their  grandeur  as  their  weak- 
ness, they  bear  in  their  bosoms  the  seeds  of  mortality  ;  but 
in  the  passions  which  elevate  them  to  greatness,  equally  as 
those  which  hasten  their  decay,  is  to  be  discerned  the  un- 
ceasing operation  of  those  principles  at  once  of  corruption 
and  resurrection,  which  are  combined  in  humanity,  and 
which,  universal  in  communities  as  in  single  men,  compen- 
sate the  necessary  decline  of  nations  by  the  vital  fire  which 
has  given  an  undecaying  youth  to  the  human  race."  This 
passage  has  not  one  mark  of  parenthetic  structure  in  punct- 
uation, and  it  needs  none  ;  but  its  burden  of  dependent 
clauses  with  suspended  sense  has  the  dead  weight  of  pa- 
renthesis of  the  most  cumbrous  form.  The  thought  is 
obscure.  Nothing  else  gives  to  English  style  such  a  leaden 
weight  of  words  as  this  packing  of  suggested  clauses  into 
all  the  interstices  of  a  sentence. 

4.  Obscurity  of  construction  may  be  caused  also  by  that 
figure  of  rhetoric  which  is  technically  termed  "  anacolu- 
Use  of  •■  anaco-  thon."  Says  Daniel  Webster,  in  his  apostro- 
luthon"  phe  to  General  Warren,  in  the  first  oration  at 

bunker  Hill,  "Ah,  Him!  How  shall  I  struggle  with  the 
emotions  which  stifle  the  utterance  of  thy  name  ?  "  So  in 
the  well-known  invective  of  Cicero,  in  his  oration  against 
Verres  :  "  It  is  an  outrage  to  bind  a  Roman  citizen,  etc. 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  121 

.  .  .  to  crucify  him — what  shall  I  call  it  ? "  The  idioms 
of  all  languages  permit  this  figure  of  rhetoric  when  the  sen- 
timent calls  for  it  and  the  speaker  means  it.  The  philoso- 
phy of  it  is  clear.  It  implies  a  sudden  overflow  of  emotion 
beyond  the  confines  of  orderly  grammatical  speech.  Elo- 
quence, in  such  examples,  is  like  the  torrent  of  the  Missis- 
sippi :  it  forces  for  itself  abnormal  channels.  But  let  the 
same  license  of  speech  be  adopted  as  a  grammatical  blun- 
der, and  it  must  pass  for  that.  If  no  emotion  compels  its 
use,  no  canons  of  good  taste  tolerate  its  use.  Few  things 
are  so  fatal  to  the  transparency  of  style  as  the  adoption  of 
the  impassioned  figures  of  speech  when  nothing  in  the 
thought  demands  them.  Such  a  style  is  oratorical  abortion. 
5.  Finally  rhetorical  construction  may  be  made  obscure,  or 
if  not  obscure,  not  precise,  by  the  combination,  in  one  sen- 
tence,  of   materials   irrelevant  to   each   other.    T  .     ,    ..  . 

'  Introduction     of 

Proximity  of  thoughts  in  one  sentence  implies    irrelevant    mat- 

tcr 

mutual  relationship.  If  none  exists,  that  in- 
stinct of  good  hearing  which  expects  it  is  balked.  It  looks 
for  the  point  of  connection,  and  cannot  find  one.  Through 
sheer  misdirection  of  attention,  the  thought  escapes.  Says 
a  reporter  in  giving  an  account  of  a  case  of  suicide,  "  His 
head  was  supported  by  a  bundle  of  clothing,  but  all  efforts  to 
revive  the  vital  spark  were  fruitless."  This  is  ludicrously 
inconsequent.  But  is  it  more  so  than  the  following,  from 
a  certain    historian  who  shall   be  nameless  ? 

„•  „..,,  Tillotson. 

"Tillotson  was  much  beloved  by  King  Will- 
iam and  Queen  Mary,  who  appointed  Dr.  Tennyson  to  suc- 
ceed him."  Were  Tillotson  and  Tennyson  first-cousins? 
If  not,  why  should  the  two  facts  be  recorded  in  the  same 
breath  ?  A  reader  instinctively  searches  for  the  latent  con- 
nection. 

Artemus  Ward  burlesques  this  error  by  saying,  "  I  am  an 
early  riser,  but  my  wife  is  a  Presbyterian."  A  passable  jest 
is  this   for  Artemus  Ward.     But  is   it  any  more   inconse- 


122        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

quent  than  the  following  ?  "  Their  march  was  through 
an  uncultivated  country,  whose  savage  inhabitants  fared 
hardly,  having  no  other  riches  than  a  breed  of  lean  sheep, 
whose  flesh  was  rank  and  unsavory  by  reason  of  their 
continual  feeding  upon  seafish."  Here  we  begin  with 
the  tramp  of  an  army,  and  end  with  the  effect  of  a  fish- 
diet  on  the  quality  of  mutton.  Let  an  abstract  and 
dignified  subject  be  treated  in  a  public  address  in  a  style 
composed  of  a  succession  of  such  sentences  as  these, 
and  you  can  easily  imagine  the  effect  on  the  search  of 
TT    ,  a  hearer  after  latent  connections.     Herbert 

Herbert  Spen- 
cer's theory  of       Spencer's   theory  of  style  is   so  far  true  as 

S  t  V 1 6 

this,  that  all  attention  of  the  hearer  which 
is  absorbed  in  the  search  for  relations  which  do  not  exist  is 
so  much  abstracted  from  relations  which  do  exist.  The 
result  is  a  waste  of  both  thought  and  interest.  We  are 
never  more  sightless  than  when  we  are  looking  at  nothing, 
yet  struggling  to  see  something. 

A  single  remark  is  suggested  by  this  review  of  the  causes 
of  obscurity  in  construction.  It  is  that  the  most  laborious 
Faithful  critics  of  ar,d  original  thinkers  have  been  the  most 
construction.  faithful  critics  of  construction.  Profound 
thought  finds  such  study  a  necessity  to  an  expression  of 
itself.  John  Foster  used  to  spend  days  on  one  sentence. 
He  wrote,  rewrote,  enlarged,  contracted,  transposed,  till  he 
satisfied  his  thought.  He  often  discussed  construction  in 
his  correspondence  with  literary  friends.  He  pursued  the 
study  of  style  with  an  artist's  enthusiasm.  True,  that  en- 
thusiasm was  excessive  :  he  injured  his  style  by  extreme 
elaboration.  Yet  it  is  doubtful  whether  much  of  his  think- 
ing could  have  found  expression  otherwise.  The  more  he 
labored  for  exact  expression,  the  more  thought  he  found 
which  was  worth  expression.  To  this  is  attributable  the 
marvellous  richness  of  some  of  his  essays. 

On  the  contrary,  negligent  critics  of  construction  become 


PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE  1 23 

by  that  very  negligence  indolent  thinkers.  The  habit  soon 
grows  of  trying  to  express  none  but  thoughts  which  can  be 
expressed  with  ease.  One's  thinking  tends  Negligent  critics 
always  to  the  level  of  one's  habit  of  utter-  of  construction. 
ance.  First  thoughts  in  first  forms  become  the  staple  of 
such  a  one's  productions.  That  is  the  very  essence  of  com- 
monplace. It  cannot  be  too  deeply  impressed  on  a  youth- 
ful writer,  that  style  is  thought.  In  the  long  run,  each  will 
be  the  gauge  of  the  other.  The  study  of  style  is  the 
study  of  thought.  Original  thought  demands  original  style, 
neither  of  which  will  come  unbidden  to  a  dormant  or  an 
indolent  mind. 

ANALYSIS. 

PERSPICUITY    (CONCLUDED). 

I.   Special  Defects  in  Perspicuity  of  Construction,  Continued. 

1.  Wrong  Order  or  Thought  in  the  Whole  Structure. 

2.  Excessive  or  Careless  Use  of  Ellipsis. 

(a)  The  One  and  the  Other. 

(b)  Alternative  Hypothetically  Expressed. 

3.  Abuse  of  the  Parenthesis. 

(a)  The  Parenthesis  a  Chasm. 

(b)  The  Parenthesis  a  Digression. 

(c)  The  Construction  of  German  Sentences. 

4.  Use  of  "  Anacoluthon." 

(a)  Examples  from  Daniel  Webster  and  Cicero. 

5.  The  Introduction  of  Irrelevant  Matter. 

(a)  Faithful  Critics  of  Construction. 

(b)  Negligent  Critics  of  Construction. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ENERGY  OF  STYLE 

Is  energy  of  style  susceptible  of  definition  ?  Not  other- 
wise than  by  the  use  of  its  synonyms  or  by  illustrative 
emblems. 

I. — Energy   Distinguished    from    Other    Qualities    of 

Style. 

i.  Energy  is   not,  as   Dr.  Campbell  defines  it,  vivacity  of 

style.     A  lamb  or  a  kitten  may  be  vivacious,  but  neither  is 

a  symbol  of  energy.     There  is  a  style  which 

Not  vivacity.  J  ...  , 

may  aptly  be  called  a  frisky  style,  but  that  is 
not  a  vigorous  style. 

2.  Again  :  energy  is  not  merely  the  superlative  of  perspi- 
cuity, as  it  seems  to  have   been   regarded  by  Dr.  Lindley 

Murray.     Perspicuity  underlies  energy  as  it 

Not  perspicuity.  .   .  ... 

underlies  other  qualities,  but  it  is  not  the 
equivalent  of  energy.  The  style  of  the  multiplication  table 
is  clear,  but  it  is  not  forcible.  Light  is  the  emblem  of  per- 
spicuity :  lightning  is  the  emblem  of  energy. 

3.  Further  :  energy  is  not  merely  impressiveness  of  diction. 
Some  writers  contend  that  all  eloquence  consists  in  impres- 
XT  ,  sion.     A  mathematical  demonstration,  then, 

Not     mere     lm-  ' 

pressiveness  of  is  eloquent  in  that  it  produces  an  effect.  An 
oration  of  Demosthenes  is  its  kindred  in  pro- 
ducing impression.  Starlight,  a  lily-of-the-valley,  the  song 
of  a  nightingale,  an  seolian  harp,  are  all  eloquent  in  the 
same  sense  that  this  quality  is  attributable  to  a  volcano  or 


ENERGY  OF  STYLE  125 

an  earthquake.  Those  diversities  of  diction,  therefore,  of 
which  these  objects  are  symbols,  are  all  alike.  When  you 
have  said  that  they  are  impressive,  you  have  said  all  there 
is  to  be  said  of  them  in  the  way  of  definition. 

This  theory  is  either  a  play  upon  words,  or  it  is  a  false 
conception  of  things.  It  leaves  no  room  for  distinguishing 
energy  from  any  other  kind  of  impression  produced  by 
language.  On  such  a  principle  you  cannot  distinguish  an 
oration  from  a  song,  not  even  a  comic  song  from  an  elegy. 
These  words,  which  have  their  synonyms  in  all  languages — 
energy,  strength,  force,  vigor — do  certainly  express  an  idea 
not  otherwise  definable  than  by  interchange  of  these  words. 
They  convey  an  idea  which  the  common-sense  of  men  never 
confounds  with  the  impressiveness  of  a  mathematical  the- 
orem, or  that  of  a  bird-of-paradise,  or  that  of  the  tail  of  a 
peacock.  These  words  are  ultimate  in  all  languages ;  so 
that  we  cannot  add  to  their  significance,  except  by  material 
emblems.  We  can  only  say  that  energy  is  a  peculiar  kind  of 
impressiveness :  it  is  the  impressiveness  of  pecuiiar  kind  of 
strength  as  distinct  from  that  of  clearness  ;  impressiveness. 
it  is  the  impressiveness  of  force  as  distinct  from  that  of 
beauty  ;  it  is  the  impressiveness  of  vigor  as  distinct  from 
that  of  vivacity.  Leaving  it  thus  undefined,  except  by  in- 
terchange of  synonyms,  we  are  in  no  more  danger  of  mis- 
taking it  for  either  of  the  impressive  qualities  from  which 
it  differs  than  we  are  of  mistaking  an  elephant  for  a  hum- 
ming-bird. 


*6 


II. — Forcible  Composition  Dependent  on  Forcible 

Thought. 

Let  it  be  observed  that  a  forcible  writer  must  have 
thoughts  to  which  forcible  expression  is  appropriate.  Ener- 
getic expression  is  not  apt  to  all  varieties  of  thought. 

Some  thoughts  as  existing  in  the  speaker's  mind  are  too 


126         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

feebly  conceived  to  be  naturally  put  forth  with  energy. 
Words  cannot  put  on  them  by  authority  of  the  dictionary  a 
quality  which  is  not  in  them. 

i.  Unimportant  thought,  however  clear,  is  not  the  proper 
subject  of  energy  of  expression.  Speakers  who  ignore  this 
Unimportant  create  in  their  style  a  gap  between  expression 
thought.  anci  thought  which  commonly  results  in  bom- 

bast. This  is  only  another  mode  of  putting  upon  a  thought 
a  quality  which  is  not  in  it.  You  cannot  speak  with  energy 
of  an  infant's  rattle  or  a  tuft  of  thistledown,  without  utter- 
ing burlesque.  Rufus  Choate  once  poured  out  an  impas- 
sioned strain  of  eloquence,  in  a  vocabulary  which  no  other 
man  could  equal,  in  defence  of  his  client's  right  to  a  side- 
saddle.    It  convulsed  the  Boston  bar  with  laughter. 

2.  Some  thoughts  are  important,  and  as  clear  as  they  can 
be,  and  yet  are  not  becoming  subjects  of  an  energetic  utter- 
indefinite  ance.  Some  thoughts  are  necessarily  indefi- 
thoughts.  nife  jn  any  truthful  conception  of  them  by  a 
finite  mind.  They  depend,  for  all  the  impressiveness  of 
which  they  are  susceptible,  on  a  certain  degree  of  vagueness. 
Define  them  sharply,  and  they  are  no  longer  true.  All 
thoughts  suggestive  of  the  infinite  in  time  or  space  must  be 
clouded  to  finite  vision  in  order  to  be  truthful.  They  must 
be  felt,  if  at  all,  through  a  remote  perspective — so  remote 
as  to  create  a  certain  dimness  of  outline  which  gives  room 
for  the  imagination  to  play.  You  cannot  drag  them  out  of 
their  sublime  reserve  by  the  mere  enginery  of  style. 

A  French  preacher,  endeavoring  to  illustrate  the  certainty 
with  which  death  must  swallow  up  all  men  in  oblivion,  re- 
niustration  by  a  marks,  in  substance,  taking  the  hint  probably 
French  preacher.  from  Saurin,  "This  audience  may  number 
about  eighteen  hundred  souls.  Between  the  ages  of  ten 
and  twenty  years,  there  may  be  about  five  hundred  and 
thirty  ;  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty  years,  about 
six  hundred  and  fifty  ;  between  the  ages  of  thirty  and  forty 


ENERGY  OF  STYLE  \2J 

years,  about  four  hundred  and  sixty."  So  he  proceeds  to 
classify  and  count  his  audience,  as  if  the  national  census 
were  before  him  ;  and  then  he  goes  on  to  say,  "According 
to  the  national  bills  of  mortality,  only  twelve  hundred  and 
seventy  of  my  hearers  will  be  living  in  ten  years  ;  in  twenty 
years  only  eight  hundred  and  thirty."  Thus  he  reckons 
the  prospect  of  life,  as  if  he  were  constructing  tables  for 
life-insurance  ;  and  the  conclusion  of  his  elaborate  compu- 
tation is,  "  So  you  see,  my  brethren,  that  human  society  is 
in  one  continual  flux."  The  flatness  of  the  inference  is  a 
caustic  satire  on  the  rhetorical  method  of  the  discourse.  It 
is  as  eloquent  as  a  table  of  logarithms. 

Compare  the  foregoing  with  a  passing  hint  at  the  tears  of 
Xerxes  at  the  thought  that  his  army  of  a  million  of  men 
would  be  in  the  grave  in  a  hundred  years.  Which  of  the 
two  is  the  more  impressive  ?  The  fact  was  once  affirmed  in 
a  sermon,  that  if  the   whole  past  population    „r 

'  .     ,  .  Vastness    of   the 

ot  the  globe  had  been  buried  in  regular  order,  whole  past  popu- 
side  by  side,  its  surface  would  have  been 
twice  covered  over  with  graves.  That  brief  hint  at  the 
number  of  the  dead  produced  a  powerful  effect  so  long  as 
the  truth  of  it  was  unquestioned.  But  unfortunately  a 
hearer  of  mathematical  taste  set  himself  to  reckoning  the 
facts  geometrically,  and  found  that  the  highest  probable 
number  of  the  earth's  past  and  present  population  might 
have  been  buried  with  room  to  spare,  within  the  area  of 
Worcester  County  in  Massachusetts.  So  long  as  the 
preacher's  statement  was  believed,  however,  the  hearer's 
imagination  gave  to  it  more  than  the  force  of  demonstra- 
tion. 

These  are  specimens  of  truths  which  must  be  left  in  some 
indeterminate  form,  and  given  over  to  the  hearer's  imagi- 
nation, in  order  to  be  forcible.  Dwell  upon  them  by  an 
attempt  to  define  them,  and  the  effect  is  that  you  flatten 
them.     Milton  recognizes  this  principle  in  the  fact  that  he 


128        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

makes  no  attempt  to  describe  minutely  the  angels  who  ap- 
pear in  the  "  Paradise  Lost."  He  leaves  them  in  shadowy 
outline,  in  which  we  see  their  differences  enough  to  know 
them  apart,  and  no  more. 

3.  Some  thoughts  not  unimportant,  and  not  necessarily  in- 
definite, are  still  not  the  proper  subjects  of  energetic  ex- 
, .   ,       .   pression.       Thought    in    which    beauty    or 

Other    kinds     of    '  &  J 

thoughts  not  pathos  is  the  predominant  element  does  not 
ut'lner^cuccx-  admit  of  energy  in  its  utterance.  Forceful 
pression.  words  and  metaphors  may  be  thrust  upon  it, 

but  do  not  express  it. 

This  suggests  the  most  common  defect,  in  point  of  en- 
ergy, in  otherwise  good  composition.  It  is  that  the  speaker 
is  not  content  with  a  style  which  fits  the  thought,  but  must 
strain  to  force  into  it  strength  which  is  foreign  to  the 
thought.  Be  it  an  earthquake  or  a  summer  twilight  which 
is  to  be  represented,  it  must  be  clothed  with  strength,  like 
the  neck  of  a  war-horse.  Evidently,  then,  the  first  thing 
requisite  to  a  genuine  energy  of  speech  is  the  possession 
and  the  mastery  of  materials  which  demand  energy  of 
speech. 

III. — Forcible  Composition  Dependent  on  the  State  of 
Mind  of  the  Writer  while  in  the  Act  of  Composing. 

In  the  same  line  of  thought,  a  second  requisite  is  that 
one  should  speak  or  write  with  enthusiasm.  "  Logic  set  on 
_  fire  "  is   one   of  the   recorded  definitions   of 

One  must  write 

and  speak  with  eloquence.  "  Heat  is  life,  and  cold  is  death," 
says  a  living  scientist.  The  absence  of  the 
element  of  heat  in  all  things  tends  to  stagnation.  One 
may  be  uplifted  by  emotional  fervor  in  the  abstract  con- 
templation of  the  work,  yet  not  in  the  discussion  of  the 
present  theme.  One  may  be  inspired  by  a  present  theme 
as  a  subject  of  meditation,  yet  not  inspired  by  it  as  a  sub- 


ENERGY  OF  STYLE  1 29 

ject  of  discourse.  One  may  be  eloquent  on  the  present 
subject  to  some  audiences,  yet  not  eloquent  in  discourse  to 
a  present  audience.  Enthusiasm  of  communication  on  a 
present  theme  to  present  hearers  is  the  power  of  movement  in 
public  speech. 

Some  who  extemporize  with  fire  cannot  write  with  fire. 
All  conditions  must  be  favorable  to  the  generation  and  the 
emission  of  heat  in  order  to  secure  the  superlative  force  in 
expression.  It  is  an  invaluable  mental  habit,  therefore,  to  pict- 
ure an  audience  in  the  solitude  of  one's  study.  This  gives 
reality  to  the  written  discourse  as  nothing  else  can.  It 
makes  a  living  thing  of  it :  it  turns  soliloquy  into  discourse 
— two  things  which  are  very  unlike,  and  which  characterize 
two  very  dissimilar  styles  of  composition. 

Nothing  else  can  take  the  place,  or  do  the  work,  of  this 
force  of  feeling.  Energy  and  enthusiasm  coexist  in  char- 
acter ;  they  must  coexist  in  style.  Men  of  Energy  and 
science  tell  us,  that  the  force  of  the  pulsations  enthusiasm, 
of  the  human  heart  is  measured  by  the  weight  of  tons  in 
twenty-four  hours.  If  all  the  beats  of  your  heart  in  one 
day  of  time  could  be  concentrated  into  one  huge  throb  of 
vital  power,  it  would  suffice  to  throw  a  ton  An  jnustration 
of  iron  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  into  the  from  science, 
air.  A  fitting  symbol  is  this  of  the  spiritual  power  which  a 
human  mind  may  put  forth  in  its  great  moods  of  inspired 
emotion.  Faith  then  hurls  the  mountain  into  the  sea.  One 
reason,  the  chief  reason,  why  some  speakers  exhibit  power 
on  great  occasions  only,  is  that  their  emotive  nature  is 
roused  by  great  occasions  only. 

2.  The  materials  to  which  energy  of  expression  is  apt, 
being  in  possession,  and  these  being  projected  in  the 
style  by  the  force  of  personal  enthusiasm  in  one  must  write 
the  speaker,  energy  requires  still  further,  ^d  SJ^J^£ 
that,  in  the  act  of  composing,  he  shall  write  object  in  view, 
or  speak  with  an  immediate  object  in  view. 
9 


130        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Oral  discourse  is  sometimes  soliloquy  in  its  nature.  If 
not  such  as  a  whole,  it  often  is  such  in  unwary  passages. 
Oral  discourse  ^  may  degenerate  even  into  revery,  or  rise 
when  a  soliloquy.  on  tne  wing  into  rhapsody.  Then,  the 
speaker  is  only  thinking  aloud.  The  whole  power  of  his 
discourse  is  expended  on  himself.  No  audience  is  pictured 
in  his  imagination  :  therefore  no  projecting  force  aims  the 
discourse  at  an  object  outside  of  his  own  being.  Such  dis- 
course is  apt  to  appear  to  a  hearer  indolent.  Its  move- 
ment is  laggard.  Time  hangs  heavy  in  listening  to  it.  A 
short  discourse  thus  constructed  is  tedious,  and  a  long 
one  intolerable.  This  must  be  so,  for  the  reason  that  the 
hearer  is  not  sensible  of  being  made  the  object  of  the  ad- 
dress. Least  of  all  does  the  discourse  create  the  sense  of 
its  having  been  created  for  him,  and  predestined  to  reach 
him. 

On  the  contrary,  discourse  which  has  an  object — a  pal- 
pable object,  an  immediate  object,  an  urgent  object,  an 
~    .  ,.  object   incessantly  present  to  the  speaker's 

Oral  discourse  J  J     r  r 

with  an  object       thought,    to    which    he   hastens    on    for   the 

in  view.  u  >  i  •  i       •  i 

hearer  s  sake — is  sure  to  be  in  some  degree 
energetic  discourse.  Why  does  everybody  spring  at  a  cry 
of  "  Fire  "  ?  For  the  same  reason,  direct  writers  are  almost 
always  energetic  speakers. 

Vigorous  materials,  enthusiasm  in  composing,  and  an 
immediate  object  in  view,  will  not  of  necessity  and  always 
secure  the  supremely  forcible  expression.  One  other  ele- 
ment is  requisite. 

3.  It  is,  that,  in  the  act  of  composing,  a  writer  or  speaker 
should  be  self-possessed.  A  French  critic  says  that  eloquence 
One  should  be  is  not  delirium.  Carlyle  adds  :  "  We  do  not 
seif-po      sed.       call  a  man  strong  wno  |ias  convulsions,  though 

in  the  fit  ten  men  cannot  hold  him."  For  superlative  force 
in  style  a  man  must  be  master  of  his  subject,  his  audience, 
his  occasion.     He  must  not  permit  them  to   be  master  of 


ENERGY  OF  STYLE  131 

him.     Enthusiasm  must  be  so  under  control  as  to  be  sus- 
ceptible of  use  at  the  speaker's  will. 

Shakespeare  had  in  mind  the  element  of  oratory  corre- 
sponding to  this  when  he  said,  "In  the  very  torrent  and 
tempest,  and,  as  I  may  say,  whirlwind,  of  his 

.        \         '  .  ,    ,  Shakespeare. 

passion,  he  must  acquire  and  beget  a  temper- 
ance that  may  give  it  smoothness."     Fury  in  speech  is  not 
energy. 

Uncontrolled  enthusiasm  is  founded  on  a  partial  mastery 
of  thought.  It  is  necessarily  one-sided.  So  far,  it  is  ig- 
norant. Absolute  mastery  of  a  truth  never  puts  a  man  out 
of  reason.  By  seeing  a  truth  all  around,  we  see  it  as  modi- 
fied by  other  truth.  We  see  it  as  balanced  by  its  opposites. 
The  loss  of  a  balanced  mind  is  always  the  loss  of  some- 
thing true.  Therefore  unbalanced  enthusiasm  leads  to 
false  assertions  in  style.  It  prompts  to  inconsiderate  super- 
latives. Qualifications  are  ignored.  Meta-  unbalanced  en- 
phor  ceases  to  be  auxiliary  to  truth  :  it  be-  thusiasm. 
comes  intemperance  of  speech.  An  intemperate  style  thus 
formed  invites  and  is  aggravated  by  an  intemperate  de- 
livery. The  utterance  of  such  a  style  demands  vociferous 
tones.  A  severity  of  countenance  approaching  to  a  scowl 
is  becoming  to  it.  Gesture  with  the  fist  becomes  instinc- 
tive in  place  of  gesture  with  the  open  palm.  The  entire 
physical  magnetism  of  the  speaker  is  perverted  to  exag- 
gerated and  repellent  uses. 

A  passionate  style,  therefore,  tends  always  to  defeat  it- 
self. Like  anything  else  that  is  overwrought,  it  invites  re- 
action. It  disgusts,  it  shocks,  it  wearies,  it  a  passionate 
amuses,  according  to  the  mood  of  the  hearer. 
Practically  it  is  weakness,  not  strength.  Why  is  it  that  we 
are  often  inclined  to  laugh  at  an  angry  man  ?  Shrewd 
politicians  understand  that  one  way  to  defeat  an  opponent 
is  to  fret  his  good  nature,  and  let  him  defeat  himself.  Make 
a  man  furious  in  debate,  and  you  make  him  harmless.     En- 


132         RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

tice  a  man  into  a  duel,  and  he   is  politically  dead,  whether 
the  bullet  reaches  him  or  not. 

Daniel  Webster  in  middle  life  was  a  model  of  self-posses- 
sion, and  therefore  of  power.     His  habit   was  to  restrain 
himself   under  the   provocations  of  debate  ; 

Daniel  Webster.  ....  ,  . 

never  to  be  tempted  by  them  into  petty  skir- 
mishes with  opponents  ;  to  wait  till  the  great  principles  in- 
volved could  be  reached,  and  then  to  handle  them,  rather 
than  the  men  who  denied  them.  In  his  old  age  he  lost  pres- 
tige in  this  respect,  and  with  a  corresponding  loss  of  power. 
The  English  Parliament  used  to  laugh  at  Edmund  Burke's 
most  solemn  adjurations,  because  they  exceeded  the  dignity 
of  self-collected  speech.  Lord  Brougham  was  more  fre- 
quently defeated  by  his  own  petulance  than  by  the  argu- 
ment of  his  opponents. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable    examples   of  intemperate 
style  among  modern  essayists  is  that  of  De  Quincey.     His 

is  a  most  fascinating  style  to  young  writers  : 

De  Quincey.  „  <%      J    ,  J  s       . 

excellent,  therefore,  for  the  purpose  of  men- 
tal quickening.  But  you  will  find  that  it  will  not  wear  well 
to  your  maturer  tastes,  and  that  its  most  serious  defect  is 
its  want  of  the  dignity  of  self-possession.  The  following 
will  illustrate  my  meaning  :  "  Any  man  of  sound  sense 
might  take  up  the  whole  academy  of  modern  economists, 
and  throttle  them  between  heaven  and  earth  with  his  finger 
and  thumb,  or  bray  their  fungous  heads  to  powder  with  a 
lady's  fan."  Again:  he  writes  of  "a  dilemma,  the  first 
horn  of  which  would  be  sufficient  to  toss  and  gore  any 
column  of  patient  readers,  though  drawn  up  sixteen  deep." 
Fortunate  is  it  for  the  future  of  the  English  language  that 
he  did  not  tax  it  with  a  description  of  the  other  horn.  Yet 
you  will  observe  that  no  personal  ill-will  is  expressed  in 
these  invectives,  no  anger,  no  petulance,  no  malign  hostil- 
ity. The  strain  of  the  style  is  jocose  rather.  Still  it  is  in- 
toxicated  style.     It   is  reckless  threshing  of  language,  in 


ENERGY  OF  STYLE  1 33 

which  you  lose  the  sober  thought  in  its  sober  truthfulness, 
and  are  only  astounded  at  the  words. 


ANALYSIS. 

ENERGY   OF   STYLE. 

I.  Energy  Distinguished  from  Other  Qualities  of  Style. 

i .  Not  Vivacity. 

2.  Not  Perspicuity. 

3.  Not  Mere  Impressiveness  of  Diction. 

II.  Forcible  Composition  dependent  on  Forcible  Thought. 

1.  Unimportant  Thought  not  the    Proper  Subject  of    Energetic 

Expression. 

2.  Indefinite  Thought  not  the  Proper  Subject  of  Energetic  Ex- 

pression. 

3.  Other  Kinds  of  Thought  that  are  not  the  Proper  Subjects  of 

Energetic  Expression. 

III.  Forcible  Composition  dependent  on  the  State  of  Mind  of  the 

Writer  while  in  the  Act  of  Composing. 

1.  One  must  Write  and  Speak  with  Enthusiasm. 

(a)  Vital  Relations  of  Energy  and  Enthusiasm. 

2.  One  must  Write  and  Speak  with  an  Immediate  Object  in  View. 

(a)  Effect  of  Oral  Discourse  when  a  Soliloquy. 

(b)  Effect  of  Oral  Discourse  with  an  Object  in  View. 

3.  One  should  be  Self-possessed  to  Write  or  to  Speak  with  Force. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

ENERGY    AND    LANGUAGE 

I.  Energy  Dependent  on  the  Kind  of  Words  Used. 

We  have  thus  far  considered  energy  of  style  as  having 
its  foundation  in  the  state  of  a  writer's  mind  in  the  act  of 
composing.  We  now  advance  to  regard  it  as  assisted  by  cer- 
tain means  which  are  common  to  the  literal  and  the  figurative 
uses  of  language. 

i.  First,  energy  is  promoted  by  the  use  of  pure  words. 
Purity  of  style  assists  energy,  partly  because  it  assists  per- 
spicuity, but  more  directly  because  it  tends 

Pure  words.  ,,.„..,,, 

to  make  style  intelligible  at  the  moment  of 
its  utterance.  Labyrinthine  style  tends  to  feeble  impres- 
sion. Slow  evolution  of  the  meaning  is,  for  that  reason, 
weak.  But  rapidity  in  a  hearer's  discovery  of  thought  en- 
livens, and  therefore  enforces,  thought.  This  is  the  work- 
ing of  a  pure  English  vocabulary.  The  force  of  it  is  aug- 
mented by  the  silent  sympathy  of  a  hearer  with  his  ver- 
nacular tongue.  That  which  energy  adds  to  perspicuity  is 
chiefly  movement  of  the  sensibilities  of  hearers  by  the  aid 
of  their  imagination.  Of  this  power  vernacular  style  must 
be  the  chief  medium  ;  and  the  most  perfect  vernacular  is 
the  purest  English. 

On  a  similar  principle,  energy  is  augmented  by  the  pre- 
ponderance of  a  Saxon  vocabulary.  The  strength  of  a 
strength  of  a  Saxon  style  has  become  one  of  the  truisms 
Saxon  style.  Qf  literature.     It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that 

public  speakers  often  talk  Saxon  who  do  not  write  it,  nor 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 35 

employ  it  predominantly  in  public  address.  A  man's  collo- 
quial style  often  discloses  his  Saxon  birthright,  when  a  Lat- 
inized dialect  prevails  in  his  continuous  discourse.  This  is 
sometimes  the  explanation,  in  part,  of  the  fact  that  a  speaker 
produces  more  impression  by  his  extemporaneous  than  by 
his  written  discourses.     It  is,  that,  in  extern-    „ 

7  Extemporaneous 

poraneous  discourse,  he  speaks  as  he  talks  ;  and  written  dis- 
and  he  talks  Saxon.  His  extemporizing  is 
thus  homely,  as  distinct  from  stately  speech.  It  is  speak- 
ing home  to  the  sympathies  of  hearers.  A  stereotyped 
criticism  on  a  bookish  speaker  is,  '  You  should  speak  more 
as  you  talk."  This  means,  in  part,  "  Use  more  liberally  a 
Saxon  vocabulary." 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  illustration  in  literary  his- 
tory of  the  contrast  between  extemporaneous  and  written 
styles  is  found  in  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson.  John-  Dr  Johnson's 
son  the  conversationalist  and  Johnson  the  tw0  styles- 
essayist  were  two  different  men.  In  writing  he  was  a  Latin 
slave  :  in  conversation  he  was  a  Saxon  prince.  Short, 
crisp,  blunt  monosyllabic  words  abounded  in  his  colloquial 
style  ;  and  such  words  in  our  language  (those,  at  least, 
which  are  naturally  used  colloquially)  are  almost  all  Saxon. 
Dr.  Johnson  ruled  English  letters  in  his  day  mainly  by 
what  he  talked,  not  by  what  he  wrote.  His  fame  grew  out 
of  what  we  speak  of  as  the  Johnson  Club.  Goldsmith,  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  Edmund  Burke,  and  Boswell  knew  him  at 
his  best,  because  they  heard  him  talk.  In  our  own  day  his 
works  are  little  read.  If  he  could  have  respected  his  Saxon 
vocabulary  enough  to  have  made  it  the  warp  of  his  written 
style,  his  works  might  have  lived  another  century  beyond 
us.  But  no  ;  he  could  talk  Saxon,  but  he  must  write  Latin. 
The  ghost  of  Cicero  haunted  him  when  he  took  to  his  pen. 
His  first  conception  of  a  thought  was  commonly  in  Saxon 
forms  ;  and  he  then  deliberately  set  to  work,  as  other  soph- 
omores have  done,  to  translate  it  into  an  English  mimicry 


136        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

of  the  Ciceronian.     Macaulay  has  made  you  familiar  with 
amusing  instances  of  this. 

Every  speaker  may  find  it  worth  his  while  to  search  his 
own  colloquial  style,  to  see  if  he  has  not  already  at  his  com- 
A  suggestion  to  niand  there  resources  of  Saxon  vigor  which 
speakers.  jie    js   noj-  usjng    in    his   public  speech,  but 

which  are  perfectly  pure,   racy  English,  and  therefore  as 
well  fitted  to  public  speech  as  to  the  table-talk. 

Yet  the  claims  of  a  Saxon  style  must  be  qualified.  Lord 
Brougham  lays  down  the  rule,  to  which  in  theory  he  makes 
no  exception,  "Always  prefer  the  Saxon  word."  But  in 
practice  he  constantly  disregarded  the  rule,  as  every  writer 
will  do  who  indulges  much  in  contemplative  or  philosophic 
thinking.  The  Greek  and  Latin  importations  into  our  lan- 
guage are  indispensable  to  such  thinking.  They  are  more 
varied  and  more  precise  than  the  words  of  Saxon  stock. 
We  are  safe  in  saying,  that  a  Saxon  vocabulary  should  be 
chosen  when  strength  of  style  is  the  chief  quality  which  the 
thought  demands.  But  often  the  thought  requires  not  so 
When  Saxon  much  strength  as  precision.  Then  the  Saxon 
English  is  not        must  give  place  to  the  Latin  or  Greek  deriva- 

to  be  used.  ^.  rrl1         ...  , 

tive.  1  he  thought,  again,  may  require  beauty 
or  pathos  of  expression.  Then  one  instinctively  chooses  the 
word  which  is  capable  of  mellifluous  utterance  ;  and  that 
most  surely  is  not  the  Saxon  word.  For  some  conceptions 
a  sensitive  writer  will  long  for  a  liquid  dialect  like  the  Tus- 
can. But  such  qualifications  leave  the  general  principle  in- 
tact, that  a  Saxon  vocabulary  is  a  strong  vocabulary.  It 
should,  therefore,  predominate  in  the  expression  of  strength 
of  thought. 

2.  Energy  of  style  is  further  augmented  by  the  use  of 

specific  words.     "Thou  art  my  rock,"  "my  fortress,"  "my 

tower,"   "my  shield,"   "my  buckler."     Why 

Specific  words.  '  J  '  J  J 

does  the  Psalmist  use  these  specific  emblems, 
instead  of  saying,  "Thou  dost  preserve  me,"  "protect  me," 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 37 

"  befriend  me  "  ?  It  is  because  the  specific  quality  of  the 
symbols  gives  reality  to  the  thought  by  their  appeal  to  the 
imagination.  In  like  manner,  the  Scriptures  discourse  upon 
the  two  future  worlds,  heaven  and  hell.  Rarely,  if  ever, 
does  the  Bible  present  these  as  states  of  be- 

v  .  The  Bible. 

ing,  and  never  as  qualities  of  character.  The 
inspired  thought  conceives  of  them  as  places  :  the  inspired 
style  therefore  paints  them  as  things.  It  describes  persons 
in  them.  Heaven  is  a  city,  a  country,  a  building,  mansions  : 
music  is  there  ;  harps  are  there,  crowns,  palms,  robes, 
rivers,  thrones,  gates,  walls.  So  the  Bible  represents  hell 
as  a  place  of  fire,  a  lake  of  brimstone,  prepared  for  the 
Devil.  Its  population  is  personal.  The  scriptural  man- 
ner of  speaking  of  the  future  worlds  is,  in  the  main,  not 
didactic,  it  is  picturesque.  The  force  of  it  is  due  largely 
to  the  specific  element  in  the  style. 

3.  Energy  is  still  further  promoted  by  the  abundant  use  of 
short  words.  Run  over  in  your  minds  such  synonyms  as 
these  :  "  wish  and  desire,  breadth  and  lati- 

,  .    r  , .    .  ,.,,....  Short  words. 

tude,  joy  and  felicity,  sure  and  indubitable, 
height  and  altitude,  law  and  regulation,  guess  and  conject- 
ure." Are  we  not  sensible  of  a  difference  in  the  force  of 
these  words,  which  is  due  almost  wholly  to  their  diversity  in 
length  ?  The  chief  defect  in  the  vocabulary  of  Dr.  Chal- 
mers is  the  preponderance  of  long  over  short  words.  Vigor 
of  expression  often  depends  on  surprises  in  thought,  and 
therefore  on  quick  turns  in  style.  There  is  said  to  be  even 
a  painful  force  in  the  strokes  of  the  wing  of  The  humming 
a  humming-bird,  arising  from  the  almost  in-  bird- 
conceivable  rapidity  of  their  succession.  Force  in  style 
may  be  due  to  a  similar  cause  ;  but  a  style  in  which  long 
words  greatly  preponderate  can  have  no  quick  strokes  in 
utterance.  The  intent  of  the  author  is  often  disclosed 
prematurely.  The  plot  of  a  sentence,  if  the  figure  may  be 
used,  is  detected  before  it  is  ripe. 


138        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Analyze  your  own  sentences  sharply,  and  you  will  often 
find  that  you  have,  in  the  heat  of  composition,  written  with 
Suggestion  to  unconscious  guile.  Your  style  here  and  there 
writers.  \%  a  trap.     It  is  so  constructed  as  to  catch 

the  listener  in  surprises  :  you  detect  in  it  a  series  of  ambus- 
cades. If,  then,  it  be  so  constructed,  by  a  large  prepon- 
derance of  long  words,  as  to  give  the  hearer  time  to 
discover  the  catch  prematurely,  it  defeats  itself.  An  un- 
wieldy style,  through  excess  of  this  long-winded  structure, 
resembles  the  movement  of  a  crocodile  in  chasing  its  prey. 
An  agile  boy,  it  is  said,  can  keep  himself  out  of  its  way  by 
running  in  a  circle.  Recall  the  familiar  example  which  Ma- 
caulay  gives  from  Dr.  Johnson.  Said  John- 
son, speaking  of  "The  Rehearsal,"  a  produc- 
tion then  fresh  to  the  critics  of  London,  '"The  Rehearsal' 
has  not  wit  enough  to  keep  it  sweet."  This  is  brief,  quick, 
Saxon  strength.  But,  after  a  pause,  he  summoned  to  his 
aid  the  dignity  of  autocratic  criticism,  and  remarked,  "  I 
should  have  said,  '  The  Rehearsal '  has  not  vitality  sufficient 
to  preserve  it  from  putrefaction."  This  is  the  style  of  the 
crocodile. 

It  needs  hardly  to  be  said  that  the  choice  of  short  words 
may  be  easily  abused.  A  style  made  up  of  monosyllables 
Exclusive  use  of  would  be  the  extreme  of  affectation.  "  Rob- 
short  words,  inson  Crusoe"  was,  some  years  ago,  trans- 
lated into  monosyllabic  words.  But  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  is 
addressed  to  a  juvenile  taste.  Even  children  will  not  long 
patter  through  a  story  of  that  length  in  monosyllabic  slip- 
pers. The  man  must  have  been  a  wiseacre  who  is  said  to 
have  read  fifteen  pages  of  it  without  discovering  that  it  was 
not  the  original. 

4.  Energy  is  also  aided  by  the  choice  of  words  whose 
sound  is  significant  of  their  sense.  "  Hiss,  rattle,  clatter, 
rumbling,  twitch,  swing,  sullen,  strut,"  are  specimens  of 
words  not  relatively  numerous  in  our  language,  but  very 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 39 

forcibly  expressive,  because  their  sound  reduplicates  their 
sense.  Ought  onomatopoetic  words  to  be  chosen  studi- 
ously ?  Will  not  the  deliberate  selection  of  Words  whose 
them  cultivate  an  affected  energy?     Doubt-      sound  is  signifi- 

.  ....  ..  ,  cant  of  sense. 

less  it  may  do  so  ;  but  the  instinct  ot  speech 
has  created  such  words  in  all  languages,  and  that  which  the 
human  mind  thus  sanctions,  literary  taste  may  wisely  select. 
Why  not,  as  well  as  other  elements  of  speech  which  carry 
the  same  authority  ?  They  do  not  constitute  a  sufficiently 
large  proportion  of  any  language  to  form  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  an  affected  use. 

II. — Energy  Dependent  on  the  Number  of  Words 

Used. 

One  of  the  means  of  augmenting  energy  of  expression, 
which  concerns  both  the  literary  and  figurative  uses  of  lan- 
guage, relates  to  the  number  of  words.  It  is  conciseness 
of  style.  Conciseness  has  been  already  con-  Conciseness  as 
sidered    as    tributary   to  perspicuity  and    to    an    element    of 

.      .  ,       .  force. 

precision  :  it  is  more  conducive  to  energy 
than  to  either.  It  has  passed  into  an  axiom  in  criticism, 
"  The  more  concise,  the  more  forcible."  Many  years  ago 
Kossuth,  the  Hungarian  patriot,  in  an  address  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  expressed  the  idea  that  the  time  had  gone  by 
when  the  people  could  be  depended  on  for  their  own  enslave- 
ment by  standing  armies.  He  compressed  it  into  two  words. 
Said  he,  "  Bayonets  think."  The  words  caught  the  popular 
taste  like  wildfire.  They  took  rank  with  the  proverbs  of  the 
language  immediately.  The  idea  was  not  new  but  the  style 
of  it  was.  It  had  been  floating  in  the  dialect  of  political 
debate  ever  since  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  but  never  before 
had  it  been  condensed  into  a  brace  of  words.  The  effect  was 
electric.  Millions  then,  for  the  first  time,  felt  it  as  a  fact  in 
political  history.  Within  a  month  the  newspapers  of  Oregon 


140        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

had  told  their  readers  that  bayonets  think.  Everybody  told 
eyerybody  else  that  bayonets  think.  In  style  it  was  a 
minie-bullet :  everybody  who  heard  it  was  struck  by  it. 
Such  is  the  force  of  a  laconic  dialect. 

A.  The  most  important  violations  of  conciseness  as  affect- 
ing energy  are  three.  One  is  tautology.  A  weak  style  is  some- 
times due  to  no  other  cause  than  repetition 

Tautology  a  vio-  .       . 

lation  of  concise-  of  ideas  in  varied  language.  This  is  toil 
without  progress.  A  tendency  to  tautology 
was  created  in  English  style  by  the  Norman  Conquest  of 
England.  As  you  are  aware,  from  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  the  Norman  was  made  by  law  the  dialect  of  the 
court,  Saxon  remaining  the  vernacular  of  the  people.  The 
usage,  therefore,  grew  up  of  expressing  thought  consecu- 
tively by  the  use  of  words  from  both  dialects,  and  mean- 
Book  of  Common  in§  precisely  the  same  thing.  In  the  Book 
Prayer.  0f   Common   Prayer,    which   was   construct- 

ed for  court  and  people  alike,  this  tautology  is  still  dis- 
cernible in  such  phrases  as  "assemble  and  meet  together," 
"dissemble  and  cloak,"  "pure  and  holy,"  "confirm  and 
strengthen,"  "joy  and  felicity."  Traces  of  the  same  feature 
still  exist  among  us,  especially  in  the  dialect  of  extempo- 
raneous prayer.  Diffuse  writers  commonly  betray  their 
diffuseness  in  this  yoking  of  Saxon  and  Norman  synonyms 
together. 

Do  you  not  recognize  the  following  words  in  couples  as 
having  become  standard  yokes  in  style  of  the  second  and 
Saxon  and  Nor-  tnird  rate  ? — "  Null  and  void,  clear  and  ob- 
man  synonyms.  vious,  pains  and  penalties,  forms  and  cere- 
monies, bounds  and  limits,  peace  and  quiet,  sort  or  kind, 
weak  and  feeble,  mild  and  gentle,  just  and  righteous,  rules 
and  regulations,  trust  and  confidence  "  ?  Some  of  these  do 
not  illustrate  strictly  the  contrast  of  Saxon  and  Norman 
roots  ;  but,  of  these  couples,  in  every  instance  one  word 
was  familiar  to  the  Saxon  mind,  and  the  other  to  the  Nor- 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  HI 

man.  In  the  first  blending  of  the  two  dialects  hundreds  of 
such  twins  found  their  way  into  the  usage  of  writers.  For 
a  time  they  were  a  necessity.  But,  now  that  the  two  dia- 
lects are  welded  into  one,  such  couples  are  no  longer  needed. 
They  encumber  style  by  needless  synonyms.  Yet  that 
usage  has  infected  the  entire  history  of  English  diction 
from  that  day  to  this.  It  has  led  to  the  duplication  of  a 
multitude  of  words  not  distinguished  by  that  diversity  of 
origin.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  a  young  writer,  therefore, 
in  the  criticism  of  his  own  discourses,  should  be  to  examine 
the  braces  of  words,  and  see  if  they  do  not  comprise  need- 
less synonyms. 

B.  Similar  to  the  tautological  sacrifice  of  conciseness,  and 
yet  distinct  from  that,  is  vcrboscness.  This  occurs  when 
words  are  introduced  which  express  unim-     ..   , 

1  Verboseness    a 

portant  shades  of  thought.     Sentences,   the     violation  of  con- 

ciscncss 

gist  of  which  might  be  compressed  into  half 
their  length,  are  extended  to  make  room  for  hints  which 
add  a  little,  but  not  much,  to  the  weight  of  thought.  They 
do  not  add  enough  to  compensate  for  the  increase  of  bulk 
and  the  labor  of  carriage.  Complex  sentences  are  need- 
lessly preferred  to  simple  ones. 

In  prose,  and  specially  in  inexperienced  writers,  the  error 
is  most  frequently  committed  by  piling  together  qualifying 
words  and  clauses.  Adjectives,  adverbs,  and  Qualifying  words 
adjective  and  adverbial  clauses,  if  they  do  and  classes, 
not  add  force  enough  to  support  them  by  their  intrinsic 
worth,  must  of  course  be  carried  by  the  rest  of  the  sen- 
tence. They  may,  therefore,  make  all  the  difference 
between  heavy  and  sprightly  movement.  The  more  weighty 
the  thought,  the  less  force  it  may  have,  if,  relatively  to  the 
main  idea,  it  is  a  dead  weight.  Style,  to  be  forcible,  must 
have  celerity  of  movement.  Thought  thus  borne  on  words 
must  be  capable  of  quick  utterance.  Words  must  be  wings. 
Rapid  succession,   if   coherent,  is  the  token  of  energetic 


142        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

thinking.  Thought  is  a  quick  process,  the  most  nimble 
that  we  know  of.  "  As  quick  as  thought,"  we  say,  and  we 
can  say  no  more,  to  express  rapidity.  Energy  of  expression 
must  always  convey  that  quality  in  thought.  Yet  to  do 
this  it  must  have  buoyancy  proportioned  to  the  weight  it 
carries.  Without  this,  we  say  of  style  that  it  drags,  no 
matter  how  solid  the  materials. 

Verboseness  is  often  the  peril  of  the  scholastic  as  op- 
posed to  the  popular  style.  A  scholar  commonly  writes 
Scholastic  ver-  m  retirement  and  at  his  leisure.  He  writes 
boseness.  under   the    influence   of    tastes   and    habits 

which  keep  him  aloof  from  real  life.  He  is  apt,  therefore, 
to  take  his  time  for  it.  The  mere  sense  of  leisure  will 
often  make  a  man  plod.  He  involves,  he  complicates,  he 
twists,  he  tangles  his  thought,  merely  because  he  has  the 
time  to  do  it.  A  pressure  from  without  which  should 
crowd  him,  would  create  force  of  style  by  compelling  him 
^     .  to  quicker  movement.     Dr.  Arnold  showed  a 

Dr.  Arnold.  .... 

very  keen  observation  of  men  and  things 
when  he  said  to  a  friend  who  urged  him  to  write  more  for 
the  newspapers,  "  I  cannot  write  well  for  the  newspapers. 
A  newspaper  demands  a  more  condensed  style  than  I  am 
master  of,  such  as  only  the  mingling  in  the  actual  shock  of 
opinions  can  give  a  man."  This  is  the  true  ideal  of  a  pop- 
ular style. 

Observe  as  a  specimen  of  that  kind  of  force  which  con- 
ciseness alone  may  create  in  style,  the  following  descrip- 
Exampie  of  con-  tion  of  China  :  "  It  is  a  country  where  roses 
cise  description,  have  no  fragrance,  and  women  no  petticoats  ; 
where  the  laborer  has  no  sabbath,  and  the  magistrate  no 
sense  of  honor  ;  where  the  roads  bear  no  vehicles,  and  the 
ships  have  no  keels  ;  where  old  men  fly  kites  ;  where  the 
needle  points  to  the  south,  and  the  sign  of  being  puzzled  is 
to  scratch  the  heel  ;  where  the  seat  of  honor  is  on  the  left 
hand,  and  the  seat  of  intellect  in  the  stomach  ;  where  to 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 43 

take  off  your  hat  is  an  insolent  gesture,  and  to  wear  white 
is  to  put  yourself  in  mourning  ;  which  has  a  literature  with- 
out an  alphabet,  and  a  language  without  a  grammar."  This 
is  in  style  what  sketching  is  in  art.  The  passage  contains 
not  one  adverb,  only  one  adjective,  not  one  qualifying 
clause,  and  nothing  expressive  of  a  secondary  idea.  It  re- 
minds one  of  national  proverbs,  which  are  commonly 
models  of  that  density  of  thought  which  the  compressed 
wisdom  of  ages  deserves.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  long- 
winded  proverb  ? 

It  is  a  singular  idiosyncrasy  sometimes  detected  in  public 
speakers,  that  they  are  verbose  in  the  use  of  certain  favor- 
ite parts  of  speech.  One  has  an  unconscious  peculiarities  of 
favoritism  for  adjectives,  another  for  ad-  public  speakers. 
verbs,  another  for  substantives  in  apposition.  The  style  of 
Rufus  Choate,  magnificent  as  it  was  in  the  affluence  of  its 
vocabulary,  would  still  have  been  invigorated  if  it  had  been 
shorn  of  one-half  its  adjectives. 

But  the  view  here  suggested  should  be  qualified  by  the 
remark,  that  sometimes  the  qualifying  word  imparts  a 
tonic  to  the  style.     One  such  word  may  con- 

.  111  1       •         r     1  A  tonic  to  style. 

dense  the  whole,  emphasis  of  the  utterance. 
De  Quincey,  descanting  on  the  falsehoods  of  Pope  as  being 
no  indication  of  recklessness  of  the  feelings  of  other  people, 
says,  "  In  cases  where  he  had  no  reason  to  suspect  any 
lurking  hostility,  he  showed  even  ^.paralytic  benignity."  A 
half-page  of  description  could  not  so  forcibly  express  the 
sarcasm  which  is  flung  at  Pope  in  this  one  word. 

C.  One  other  method  by  which  the  want  of  conciseness 
may  impair  energy  of  expression  is  that  of  a  needless  cir- 
cumlocution   of    thought.      Circumlocution  Of       Circumlocution 

thought    is  not  necessarily  tautological   nor      olationgof  wm- 
verbose.     No  more  words  may  be  employed      ciseness. 
than   are  needful    to   express   thought   circuitously.     The 
fault  lies  in  multiplying  words  by  a  circumlocutory  train  of 


144        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

thinking,  when  direct  thinking  is  equally  good,  and,  if  so, 
better,  because  it  is  direct.  Says  Mr.  Disraeli,  in  a  speech 
on  the  hustings,  "  The  national  debt  is  nothing  but  a  flea- 
bite."  But  in  the  House  of  Commons  he  scruples  to  repeat 
the  figure  in  its  strong,  homely  form,  but  says,  "The  na- 
tional debt  is  nothing  but  the  incision  of  the  most  trouble- 
some, though  not  the  most  unpopular,  of  insects."  Why 
this  polite  euphemism?  Circumlocutory  thought  displaced 
directness,  and  that  made  just  the  difference  between  weak- 
ness and  energy  of  diction. 


ANALYSIS. 

ENERGY   AND   LANGUAGE. 

I.  Energy  dependent  on  the  Kind  of  Words  Used. 

i.  Energy  is  promoted  by  the  Use  of  Pure  Words. 

(a)  Strength  of  a  Saxon  Style. 

(b)  Why  Extemporaneous  is  more  Effective  than  Written 

Discourse. 

(c)  The  two  Styles  of  Dr.  Johnson. 

2.  Energy  is  promoted  by  the  Use  of  Specific  Words. 

3.  Energy  is  promoted  by  the  Use  of  Short  Words. 

(a)  Suggestion  to  Writers. 

(b)  Exclusive  Use  of  Short  Words. 

4.  Energy  sometimes  promoted  by  Words  whose  Sound  is  signifi- 

cant of  their  Sense. 

II.  Energy  dependent  on  the  Number  of  Words  Used. 

1.  Conciseness  as  an  Element  of  Force. 

A.  Tautology  a  Violation  of  Conciseness. 

B.  Verboseness  a  Violation  of  Conciseness. 

C.  Circumlocution  of  Thought  a  Violation  of  Conciseness. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

ENERGY   AND   LANGUAGE   (CONTINUED) 

I. — Exceptions  in  which  Conciseness  is  not  Favorable 

to  Energy. 

The  last  chapter  closed  with  a  consideration  of  concise- 
ness of  style  as  generally  tributary  to  energy.  The  view 
there  presented  is  subject  to  exceptions  in  which  concise- 
ness is  the  reverse  of  energy. 

i.  Exception  occurs  where  conciseness  is  obviously  af- 
fected. Affectation  of  anything  is  never  other  than  a  weak- 
ness. A  friend  of  Dr.  Johnson  died,  and  he  Conciseness 
wrote  to  his  widow  a  note  of  condolence,  affected, 
thus  :  "  Dear  madam,  oh  !  "  In  less  than  a  year  she  married 
again,  and  he  wrote  a  note  of  congratulation  thus  :  "  Dear 
madam,  ah  !  "  This  would  satisfy  Lacedaemonian  taste  in 
respect  to  brevity,  but  what  is  the  effect  of  the  laconics 
rhetorically  ?  Would  the  first  note  comfort  a  disconsolate 
widow  ?  Would  the  second  please  a  comforted  widow  ? 
Neither.  Both  are  extremes  of  affectation,  in  which  the 
doctor  was  thinking  of  his  very  smart  style.  No  style  is 
impressive  which  is  not  sincere. 

2.  Again:  exception  obviously  occurs  where  diffuseness 
is  necessary  to  perspicuity.  For  some  audiences,  on  some 
subjects,  as  we  have  seen,   perspicuity   de-  _.„. 

Dirfuseness 

mands  diffuseness.     In  such   cases,   energy,  necessary  to 

of  course,  demands  the    same.     Perspicuity  perspicuity. 

always  lies  back  of  energy.  The  form  of  concise  force  is 
delusive  if  the  thought  is  not  clear.  It  is  not  entirely  fair 
to  criticise  an  author  by  fragments  of  his  composition  dis- 


146        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

located  from  their  connections  ;  but  the  following  are 
examples,  which,  read  in  their  connections,  would  still 
represent  obscure  conciseness.  They  are  taken  from  the 
earlier  essays  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  "  The  way  of  life 
Examples  from  *s  by  abandonment."  "With  the  geometry 
Emerson.  0f  SUnbeams   the  soul  lays  the  foundation  of 

nature."  "  I,  the  imperfect,  adore  my  own  perfect."  "  The 
soul  knows  only  the  soul."  "  The  world  globes  itself  in  a 
drop  of  dew."  "  The  great  genius  returns  to  essential 
man."  "  Prayer  is  the  spirit  of  God  pronouncing  His  works 
good."     "  The  devil  is  an  ass." 

Such  aphoristic  sentences  abound  in  the  style  of  Emer- 
son in  his  early  manhood.  They  are  laconic,  but  they  are 
not  forcible.  The  question  is  not  whether  they  convey  any 
meaning,  but  do  they  convey  any  such  force  of  meaning  as 
that  professed  by  their  extremely  laconic  form  ?  Their 
compactness  promises  a  great  deal  :  does  the  reader  realize 
the  promise  ?  Who  is  sure  that  he  understands  them  ? 
How  many  of  these  sage  proverbs,  which  by  their  form  put 
themselves  by  the  side  of  the  apothegms  of  the  ages,  will 
you  remember  in  a  week  ?  Probably  none  but  the  compli- 
ment to  Satan,  and  that  is  asinine  in  more  senses  than  one. 
It  will  cling  to  your  memory  rather  as  a  rude  jest  than  as 
the  utterance  of  an  axiomatic  truth. 

3.  Exception  to  the  principle  that  conciseness  is  energy 
occurs  in  some  examples  of  descriptive  writing.  Edmund 
Descriptive  writ-  Burke,  in  his  speech  on  the  nabob  of  Arcot, 
ine-  describes  the   effects  of  the   war  carried  on 

by  the  East  India  Company  in  the  Carnatic  territory.  An 
unimaginative  speaker,  seeing  things  in  what  Bacon  calls 
"  dry  light,"  would  have  said,  "  The  war  was  a  war  of  ex- 
termination :  "  this  was  the  whole  of  it.  An  indignant  and 
diffusive  speaker,  boiling  over  with  his  wrath,  would  have 
said,  "The  war  was  murderous,  inhuman,  devilish."  His 
invective  would  have  spent  itself  in  epithets.     But  Burke, 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 47 

more  forcible  than  either,  compresses  his  indignation,  has 
not  a  word  to  say  of  the  character  of  the  war,  but  de- 
scribes the  facts,  and  leaves  them  to  speak 

r  1  1  TT  ,,  „„  1        -^   •  Edmund  Burke. 

for  themselves.  He  says,  "  When  the  Brit- 
ish army  traversed,  as  they  did,  the  Carnatic  for  hundreds 
of  miles  in  all  directions,  through  the  whole  line  of  their 
march  they  did  not  see  one  man,  not  one  woman,  not  one 
child,  not  one  four-footed  beast  of  any  description  what- 
ever." Energy  of  thought  here  requires  particularity  of 
detail  :  therefore  energy  of  expression  requires  many 
words. 

Sometimes  a  descriptive  speaker  needs  to  gain  time  for  a 
thought  to  take  hold  of  an  obtuse  hearer.  Macaulay  says 
of    the    effects   of   the    French    Revolution,    Time  needed  in 

"  Down  went  the  old  church  of  France,  with    description  to  in- 
terest. 
all  its  pomp  and  wealth."     This  is  forcible 

fact  forcibly  put.     But   he  intensifies  it  by  saying,  "  The 

churches  were  closed  ;  the  bells  were  silent ;  the  shrines 

were  plundered  ;  the  silver  crucifixes  were  melted  down  ; 

buffoons  dressed  in  surplices  came  dancing  the  carmagnole, 

even  to  the  bar  of  the  Convention."     By  these  details,  time 

is  gained  for  the  imagination  to  realize  the  main  truth  that 

the  church  was  destroyed.     Longinus  illustrates  the  two 

styles  here  contrasted  by  the   examples   of   Demosthenes 

and    Cicero.     He   says,    "  Demosthenes   was        Demosthenes 

concisely,  Cicero  diffusely  sublime.     Demos-        and  Clcero- 

thenes  was  a  thunderbolt :  Cicero  was  a  conflagration." 

4.    Exception   to  the  general  principle  before  us  takes 

place,   also,    in   certain    momentary   utterances    of   intense 

emotion.     Profane  men  in  a  fit  of  passion  do    Expression  of  in- 

not  swear  concisely.     Intense  emotion  may    tense  emotIon- 

express  itself,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  by  a  volume  of 

words.     Passion   heaps  words  on  words,  piles  epithet   on 

epithet,  repeats  itself  once  and  again,  and  thus  creates  in 

style  that  kind   of  energy  which  a  torrent  symbolizes.     A 


148        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

volley  of  oaths  is  the  transient  utterance  of  overwhelming 
wrath.  The  single  tremendous  oath  of  studied  force  is  the 
expression  of  cool  purpose  and  self-collection.  Dignified 
discourse  sometimes  admits  a  style  which  transiently  re- 
sembles that  of  overpowering  passion.  Style,  then,  does 
not  condense,  but  expands  thought,  pours  it  forth  in  a 
volume  of  sound.  Words  at  best  are  but  hints.  They  are 
but  symbols  of  ideas.  The  sum  total  of  them  is  a  symbol 
as  well  as  the  units.  A  flood  of  words  may  have  the  same 
kind  of  force  as  that  of  a  flood  of  tears. 

But  is  not  this  contradictory  to  the  principle  we  have 
considered,  that  energy  demands  self-possession  ?  Yes,  it 
Self-possession  ls  s0  m  appearance,  but  not  in  fact.  Did  you 
as  affected  by        never  pause  in  the  street  to  watch  a  horse 

this  exception.  , 

at  the  top  of  his  speed,  when  at  first  you 
doubted  whether  he  was  not  a  runaway  ?  And,  when 
you  saw  that  his  rider  had  him  well  in  hand,  did  not 
your  first  thought  enhance  your  sense  of  power  in  the 
second  ?  There  is  in  style  a  phenomenon  which  resembles 
that.  Speech  carried  to  the  verge  of  frenzy,  but  indulged 
only  for  the  moment,  then  reined  in,  and  used  for  a  pur- 
pose, becomes  an  evidence,  and  therefore  an  instrument,  of 
power.  Disorder  ruled  and  utilized  is  the  exponent  of 
superlative  power. 

II.  — Construction    of  the    Sentence   an   Element    of 

Energy. 

Not  only  does  energy  of  style  concern  words  considered 
singly  ;  not  only  the  number  of  words  ;  but  there  is  a  class 
of  tributaries  to  it  which  concerns  the  construction  of  sen- 
tences. We  cannot  wisely  carry  criticism  of  construction 
beyond  a  few  simple  principles.  For  the  most  part,  in 
practice,  it  must  be  left  to  the  bidding  of  the  oratorical  in- 
stinct.     But  in  written  composition  especially,  the  three 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 49 

following  principles  of  rhetorical  mechanism  may  be  ap- 
plied without  detriment  to  freedom  in  composing. 

1.  One  is,  that  emphatic  words  be  so  located  that  their 
force  shall  be  obvious.  Observe,  this  criticism  does  not 
concern  the   choice  of  emphatic  words  :    it 

,  .  m,  7  .         ,  Emphatic  words. 

concerns  location  only.  The  where  is  often 
more  significant  than  the  what.  The  distinction  often 
made  between  the  natural  and  the  inverted  order  of  a  sen- 
tence is  fallacious.  Any  order  is  natural  which  makes 
obvious  the  full  force  of  the  language.  The  oratorical 
instinct  needs  to  be  so  trained,  that  in  practice  it  will 
spontaneously  choose  the  natural  order,  be  it  inverted  or 
direct  Yet  one  may  deliberately  apply  this  as  one  prin- 
ciple of  mechanism  in  style,  that  a  sentence  should  not 
commonly  end  or  begin  with  an  insignificant  word. 

The  ending  and  the  beginning  of  a  sentence  are  the  only 
two  localities  with  which  criticism  can  consciously  concern 
itself,  in  the  act  of  composing,  without  loss     Rules    f      th 
of  freedom.     But  so  far,  conscious  vigilance     ending  of  a  sen- 

tcnce. 

may  direct  the  pen.  Therefore  we  should 
not  end  a  sentence  with  a  little  word,  unless  the  connection 
gives  it  emphasis.  One  writer,  who  probably  means  no 
more  than  this,  lays  down  the  rule  (so  the  text-books  tell 
us)  that  a  preposition  ought  not  to  close  a  sentence.  The 
most  conclusive  answer  to  such  a  rule  is  the  Prepositions 

very  form  in  which  the  rhetorical  instinct  of  ending  sen- 

tences 

the  critic  cast  the  statement  of  it.  He  puts 
it  thus  :  "  A  preposition  is  a  feeble  word  to  end  a  sentence 
with"  This  rule,  though  in  more  adroit  form  of  statement, 
has  long  encumbered  the  books  on  rhetoric.  It  is  indefen- 
sible in  any  form.  A  preposition  as  such  is  by  no  means 
a  feeble  word.     What  can  be   finer  than  this  from  Rufus 

Choate  ?      "  What !     Banish   the  Bible  from 

,     ..      -kt  !  1  •     1    r  Rufus  Choate. 

our  schools  ?     Never,  so  long  as  there  is  left 

of  Plymouth  Rock  a  piece  large  enough  to  make  a  gun- 


I50        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

flint  off  "  This  is  purest  idiomatic  English.  Our  Lord's 
rebuke  to  His  disciples  is  fashioned,  in  our  translation,  on 
the  same  model.  "  Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye 
are  of."  The  old  Scotch  interrogative,  "  What  for  ?  "  is  as 
pure  English  in  written  as  in  colloquial  speech. 

The  true  principle,  and  the  only  one  which  the  oratorical 
instinct  can  use  in  the  act  of  composing,  respecting  the 
The  true  princi-  ending  of  a  sentence,  is  the  one  already 
Ple-  named — that  a  sentence  should  not  needlessly  be 

ended  with  an  unimportant  word  of  any  kind.  A  similar  rule 
holds  good,  but  with  more  frequent  exception,  respecting 
the  beginning  of  a  sentence.  When  energy  of  expression 
is  required,  we  should  not,  if  we  can  avoid  it,  locate  at  the 
beginning  insignificant  words.  Certain  declarative  phrases, 
such  as  "  it  is,"  "  there  is,"  are  employed  to  start  the  move- 
ment of  sentences  when  often  they  are  not  emphatic  ;  they 
are  only  mechanical  expedients  for  setting  the  ball  in  mo- 
tion. Among  inexperienced  writers,  the  word  "  and  "  prob- 
ably begins  more  sentences  than  any  other  word  in  the  lan- 
guage. 

2.  The  mechanism  of  sentences  may  assist  energy  fur- 
ther by  the  conscious  use  or  omission  of  the  conjunctive 
Care  in  the  use    beginning.    It  has  just  been  observed  that  the 

of  dthee  c™njun°cn-  word  "  and  "  Pr°bably  begins  more  sentences 
tive  beginning.  in  the  productions  of  inexperienced  writers 
than  any  other  in  the  language.  This  fact  gives  importance 
to  intelligent  criticism  of  all  forms  of  conjunctive  beginning. 
Let  it  be  noticed,  then,  that  the  conjunctive  beginning  is 
forcible  if  the  succession  of  thought  requires  it.  Often  it 
does  so.  Something  is  needed  to  express  or  to  hint  the 
fact  of  continuity.  The  idea  of  inference,  or  of  other 
sequence,  or  of  qualification,  or  of  contrast,  is  to  the  point. 
Instinctively,  then,  you  link  sentence  to  sentence  by  begin- 
ning the  second  of  two  with  "  but  "  or  "  and,"  or  an  adver- 
bial  term  which  has   a  conjunctive  effect,  like   "yet"  or 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  151 

"  nevertheless."  What  is  the  exact  force  of  this  conjunc- 
tive beginning  ?  It  is  to  bridge  over  the  period  preceding. 
Sometimes  energy  requires  that. 

But,  without  such  demand  of  thought,  the  conjunctive 
beginning  is  meaningless,  and  therefore  vapid.  Did  you 
never  hear  an  inferior  conversationalist  be-  when  the  con- 
gin  sentence  after  sentence  with  the  corrupt      junctive  begm- 

0  l  ning    is  mean- 

formula  "and-er  "  ?     That  indicates  momen-       ingiess. 

tary  vacuity  of  mind.  The  speaker  is  on  the  hunt  for 
something  to  say.  The  "  and-er "  has  no  conjunctive 
force.  Not  once  in  a  score  of  times  does  the  connection 
demand  a  reminder  of  that  which  went  before.  This  mon- 
grel expression  is  only  an  interjectional  expletive,  by  which 
the  speaker  holds  on  to  the  right  of  utterance  while  his 
mind  is  exploring.  To  compare  it  with  a  thing  on  a  level 
with  it  in  dignity,  it  is  like  the  travelling-bag  which  you 
leave  to  represent  you  when  you  for  a  moment  leave  your 
seat  in  a  railway-car.  Precisely  such  is  the  needless  use  of 
the  conjunctive  beginning  in  written  discourse.  In  the  suc- 
cession of  thought  it  has  no  conjunctive  force.  Therefore, 
style  it  is  not.     It  is  language  not  freighted  with  sense. 

Oral  delivery  may  be  sadly  weakened  by  the  conjunctive 
beginning.  Punctuation  may  remedy  it  to  the  eye  in  print  ; 
but,  orally  delivered,  such  sentences  lose  oral  delivery 
their  only  sign  of  separation.  The  period  is  f^cti^begin- 
bridged  over  when  you  do  not  mean  it,  and  ning. 
your  style  runs  together.  Two,  even  three,  possibly  four, 
short  sentences,  which  for  force  of  utterance  ought  to  be 
short,  and  ought  to  be  uttered  with  crisp  delivery,  are 
stretched  into  one  long  one  ;  made  long  by  that  most  flat- 
tering expedient  of  composition,  a  mechanical  coupling  of 
ideas.  The  conjunctive  beginning,  therefore,  should  be  in- 
telligently used.  Use  it  when  you  mean  it.  Drop  it  when 
it  is  only  the  sign  of  vacuum.  Common  etiquette  requires 
you  to  conceal  a  yawn. 


152        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

3.  Again  :  energy  may  be  expressed   in   the   mechanical 

construction   of  style  by   the  skilful    use   of   the  periodic 

structure.     What  is  meant   by  a   rhetorical 

of  periodic  period  ?     The  period  is  a  structure  in  which 

structures.  ^ie  compiefion  0j  f}ie  sense  is  suspended  till  the 

close.     The  ancient   rhetoricians  compared    it   to   a   sling, 

from  which  the  stone  is  ejected    after    many  circuits.     A 

loose  sentence  is  one  in  which  the  end  might 

Period  and  loose  .  01 

sentence  de-  grammatically  occur  before  the  close,  bucli 
a  sentence  is  a  chain,  from  which  a  link 
may  be  dropped  from  the  end,  and  it  will  still  be  a  chain, 
and  will  have  an  end.  The  periodic  sentence  is  a  glass 
ball  ;  to  part  with  a  fragment  of  it  is  to  ruin  the  whole. 

(a)  One  effect  of  the  periodic  structure  is  to  throw  for- 

ward emphasis  upon  the  end.     Also,  by  the 

Advantages  of  ..... 

the  periodic  suspense  of  the  sense,  attention  is   claimed 

structure.  .M1   ,,         1 

till  the  close. 

(b)  Further  :  the  period  satisfies  all  the  expectation  it 
excites.  In  the  act  of  attending  to  discourse,  the  mind  of 
a  hearer  always  gravitates.  Its  instinct  is  to  seek  a  state 
of  rest,  and  to  rest  at  the  first  point  at  which  rest  is  gram- 
matically possible.  In  listening  to  the  period,  it  finds  but 
one  such  point ;  in  listening  to  the  loose  construction,  it  may 
find  many. 

(c)  Besides,  the  period  permits  the  disclosure,  to  the 
hearer,  of  the  growth  of  a  thought.  Here  lies  its  chief  ad- 
vantage. A  loose  sentence  can  grow,  only  as  the  tail  of  a 
kite  grows.  A  period  has  symmetry  :  its  parts  do  more 
than  cohere ;  they  are  interdependent  and  interlocked. 
The  construction  furnishes  scope  for  that  visible  evolution 
and  involution  of  thought  which  constitute  the  charm  of 
the  most  powerful  style.  Critical  description  of  this  is  very 
tame.  But  look,  for  examples,  at  the  style  of  Jeremy 
Taylor,  of  Milton's  prose-works,  and  of  Edmund  Burke. 
Those  passages  which  will  strike  you  as  the  most  eloquent 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 53 

are  the  passages  of  sustained,  prolonged  intercurrence  of 
ideas  by  means  of  the  periodic  mechanism. 

(d)  In  the  most  perfect  examples  of  extemporaneous 
style,  thought  actually  grows  thus  in  the  mind  of  the 
speaker.      He  does   not  know  the  whole  of    „,, 

The    period     in 

it  when  he  commences  a  sentence.  Yet,  by  extemporaneous 
oratorical  instinct,  he  chooses  the  broad,  cir-  speec  ' 
cular,  periodic  inclosure  ;  and  in  it  his  mind  careers  around 
and  across,  gathering  its  materials  as  it  goes.  To  the  hearer 
that  process  of  inventing  thought  is  made  visible,  yet  with- 
out suggesting  the  weakness  of  after-thought.  A  certain 
loftiness  of  imaginative  thinking  cannot  be  expressed  with- 
out a  skilful  and  free  use  of  the  periodic  structure.  Short, 
dense,  antithetic  sentences  will  not  do  for  it.  Many  are 
masters  of  these  who  cannot  command  the  other.  -Dr. 
South  could  not.  If  he  had  been  able  to  do  it,  he  would 
have  been  a  more  genial  critic  of  Jeremy  Taylor. 

(e)  Once  more  :  the  periodic  style  assists  energy  of  ex- 
pression by  a  certain  roundness  of  construction  which  is 
favorable  to  dignity  of  delivery.     Difficult  of  „,, 

°       J  J  The  period 

execution  though  it  be,  and  requiring  certain  effective  in 

physical  resources  which  few  possess  in  their 
perfection,  when  well  matched  by  a  grand  physique,  in  per- 
son, voice,  attitude,  and  gesture,  it  carries  everything 
before  it.  The  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  D.D.,  of  Brooklyn,  is  an 
example  of  a  speaker  whose  physique  and  elocution  invite 
the  use  of  the  periodic  style  ;  and  he  often  employs  it  with 
great  power. 

But  it  should  be  observed,  as  a  balance  to  Abuse  of  the 
the  view  here  given,  that  the  periodic  struct-  period, 

ure  may  be  abused. 

The  point  of  this  criticism  cannot  be  more  briefly  ex- 
pressed than  by  recalling  to  you  a  familiar  one  from  De  Quin- 
cey  on  the  defectiveness  of  German  construction.  The 
construction  which  is  indigenous  to  the  German  mind  is  the 


154        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

ideal   realized  of  this  abuse  of  the   period.     De   Quincey 

writes  of  it  thus  :  "  Every  German  regards  a  sentence  in 

^  .  the  liffht  of  a  package    .    .     .    into  which  his 

De  Quincey  on  °         . 

German  con-  privilege  is  to  crowd  as  much  as  he  possibly 
can.  Having  framed  a  sentence,  therefore, 
he  next  proceeds  to  pack  it  ;  which  is  effected  partly  by 
unwieldy  tails  and  codicils,  but  chiefly  by  enormous  paren- 
thetic involutions.  Qualifications,  limitations,  exceptions, 
illustrations,  are  stuffed  and  violently  rammed  into  the 
bowels  of  the  principal  proposition.  That  all  this  equipage 
of  accessories  is  not  so  arranged  as  to  assist  its  own  orderly 
development,  no  more  occurs  to  a  German  as  any  fault  than 
that  in  a  package  of  carpets  the  colors  and  patterns  are  not 
fully  displayed.  To  him  it  is  sufficient  that  they  are  there." 
You  doubtless  recognize  the  original,  in  this  caricature,  of 
many  sentences  in  the  writings  of  Kant. 

Abuse  of  the  period,  furthermore,  impairs  energy  in  oral 
address  by  rendering  a  forcible  delivery  impossible.  In 
Abuse  of  the  pe-  either  form,  that  of  excessive  stateliness  or 
forcibfe^deHv-  a  tnat  °f  slovenly  crowding,  impressive  elocu- 
ery-  tion    is   beyond    the    reach    of  art.     Try   it. 

Could  you  deliver  well  three  pages  of  Sir  Thomas  Browne  ? 
Could  you  pronounce  impressively  one  of  Kant's  sentences, 
covering  an  octavo  page,  and  packed  at  that  ?  You  must 
chant  the  one,  and  mouth  the  other.  In  adopting  the  res- 
onant periodic  structure,  a  speaker  should  see  to  it  that 
the  passage  be  so  adjusted  as  to  deliver  well.  We  must 
sacrifice  an  excellence  in  written  style,  if  it  is  not  also  an 
excellence  in  oral  speech.  A  daring  exploit  is  it,  under 
some  conditions,  to  speak  the  period  at  all.  A  double- 
bass  voice  in  an  auditorium  whose  acoustic  proportions 
put  in  a  claim  for  a  hearing  of  its  own  will  doom  any  speci- 
men of  the  periodic  style  to  ridicule. 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  I  55 

ANALYSIS. 

ENERGY    AND    LANGUAGE   (CONTINUED). 

I.  Exceptions  in  which  Conciseness  is  not  Favorable  to  Energy. 

1.  Where  Conciseness  is  Affected. 

2.  Where  Diff  useness  is  a  means  of  Perspicuity. 

3.  Sometimes  in  Descriptive  Writing. 

4.  Sometimes  in  Expressing  intense  Emotion. 

II.  Construction  of  the  Sentence  an  Element  of  Energy. 

1.  Emphatic  Words  to  be  placed  so  that  their  force  shall  be  ob- 

vious. 

2.  Care  to  be  observed  in  the  Use  and  the  Omission  of  Conjunctive 

Beginnings. 

3.  Skill  in  the  Use  of  the  Periodic  Structure. 

A.  The  Period  and  the  Loose  Sentence  defined. 

B.  Advantages  of  the  Period. 

(a)  Throws  Emphasis  upon  End  of  the  Sentence. 

(b)  Fully  satisfies  Expectation. 

(c)  Permits  the  disclosure  to  the  Hearer  of  the  Growth  of 

Thought. 

(d)  The  Form  of  the  Finest  Examples  of  Extemporaneous 

Speech. 

(e)  An  Aid  to  the  Highest  Eloquence  in  Delivery. 

(f )  Abuse  of  the  Period. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

ENERGY   AND   LANGUAGE   (CONCLUDED) 

Thus  far,  energy  of  style  has  been  treated  as  depending 
on  the  state  of  a  writer's  mind  in  the  act  of  composing,  and 
as  depending  on  certain  tributaries  which  are  common  to 
both  the  literal  and  the  figurative  uses  of  language. 

I. — Figurative   Language   an  Element  of   Energy  of 

Style. 

It  remains  now  to  consider  it  as  related  to  certain  means 
which  are  peculiar  to  figurative  speech. 

Of  these  should  be  first  recalled  those  principles  concern- 
ing imagery  which  were  named  as  essential  to  perspicuity. 
In  treating  that  branch  of  our  general  subject,  the  chief 
causes  of  obscurity  in  style  were  mentioned,  and  discussed 
at  length.  They  were,  incongruous  imagery,  mixed  imagery, 
learned  imagery,  excess  of  imagery,  and  the  absence  of  im- 
agery. We  need  not  traverse  the  same  ground  again  any 
farther  than  to  observe  that  the  same  causes  may  render 
style  feeble  which  render  it  obscure.  Indeed,  they  may  do 
so,  by  making  it  obscure.  Anything  that  blurs  a  thought 
deadens  its  force.  Good  taste  is  even  more  sensitive  to  the 
force  of  imagery  than  to  its  clearness. 

Two  preliminaries  here  will  prevent  misconception.  One 
is,  that  figure  in  speech  is  not  confined  to  imagery  strictly 
Two  pre-  so  called.      Construction  in  style  admits  of 

hminanes.  figure.      This  is  what  the  books   mean  when 

they  enumerate  "figures  of  rhetoric."     A  sentence  by  its 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  I  57 

very  structure  may  be  figurative  when  its  words  are  not  so. 
By  an  occult  sense,  style  may  be  made  figurative  when  its 
words  are  as  literal  as  the  alphabet.  Irony,  for  instance,  is 
one  of  the  "  figures  of  rhetoric." 

The  other  preliminary  is,  that  the  object  of  naming  these 
"  figures  of  rhetoric  "  is  not  to  facilitate  a  mechanical  use 
of  them.  The  use  of  them  ought  not  to  be  mechanical. 
Criticism  which  should  make  them  so  would  be  worse  than 
useless.  Moreover,  criticism  is  useless  in  assisting  the  in- 
vention of  these  figures  of  speech.  The  invention  must 
come  from  the  instinct  of  an  excited  mind,  or  it  cannot  be 
at  all.  The  most  that  criticism  can  do  is  to  confirm  the 
oratorical  instinct  in  the  use  of  such  resources,  and  to 
guard  against  abuses  of  them. 

i.  The  instinct  of  oratory  numbers  among  its  simplest 
figures  of  rhetoric  the  climax.  It  is  a  symbol  of  cumula- 
tion, and  cumulation  of  thought  is  force.  In  few  expedi- 
ents is  the  skill  of  a  writer  more  constantly  put  in  uncon- 
scious requisition  than  in  this  of  the  pertinent  use  of  the 
cumulative  structure.  In  the  order  of  adjectives,  of  ad- 
verbs, of  verbs,  of  substantives,  of  clauses,  a  choice  is  prac- 
ticable, which  commonly  climax  should  determine.  You 
are  heedless  of  the  instinct  of  oratory,  if  you  say,  "  he  was 
beloved  and  respected,"  instead  of  saying,  "  he  was  re- 
spected and  beloved,"  unless  the  "  respect "  in  question  is 
the  point  which  needs  enforcement.  Would  Effect  of  the  re- 
you  say,  "  he  had  a  good  conscience  and  a  verse  of  chmax- 
Roman  nose  "  ?  Why,  then,  reverse  the  order  of  climax  in 
any  energetic  speech  ?  Climax  reversed  is  one  form  of 
burlesque.  A  succession  of  tapering  sentences,  advancing 
from  the  greater  to  the  less,  makes  one  feel  as  if  one  were 
sitting  on  an  inclined  plane.  By  confusion  of  order,  pro- 
ceeding from  greater  to  less  and  from  less  to  greater 
in  succession,  style  may  seem  to  make  a  zigzag  move- 
ment. 


158        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTI.CE 

2.  The  instinct  of  forcible  utterance   recognizes  the  en- 
ergy of  antithesis  in  style.     Antithetic  structure  expresses 

an  idea — that  of  contrast.     Contrast  itself  is 

Antithesis.         ,  .  , 

force.  De  Quincey  supposes  the  whole 
structure  of  the  "  Paradise  Lost  "  to  rest,  as  a  work  of  art, 
on  a  designed  multiplication  of  contrasts.  That  which  some 
"Paradise  have  charged  to   the  pedantry  of  Milton  he 

Lost- "  claims  to  be  the  effect  of  a  lurking  antagonism 

of  effects.  The  introduction  of  architecture  into  pandemo- 
nium, and  again  into  paradise,  he  vindicates,  not  by  any  law 
of  historic  probability,  but  simply  by  the  law  of  imagination, 
which  invents  and  delights  in  reciprocal  collision  of  ideas. 

It  is  this  intrinsic  energy  of  contrast  which  inclines  deep 
feeling  to  express  itself  in  contradictions.     St.  Paul,  with 

no  oratorical  theory  about  it,  pours  out  his 
St.  Paul.  .        ,  .        3  .     ,  '  l 

profound  experience  in  forms  which  are  false, 

yet  which  deceive  nobody  :  "  Sorrowing,  yet  always  rejoic- 
ing ;  dying  yet  we  live  ;  having  nothing,  yet  possessing  all 
things."     What  is  the  secret  of  this  language  from  De  Bray, 

the   Huguenot    martyr? — "These    shackles 

De  Bray-  1  ,  , 

are  more  honorable  to  me  than  golden  rings  : 

when  I  hear  their  clank,  methinks  I  listen  to  the  music  of 

sweet  voices  and  the' tinkling  of  lutes."     Contrast  promotes 

force,  also,  by    augmenting    conciseness.     Contrast   saves 

words.     Of  two   contrasted   ideas,  each  is  a  mirror  to  the 

other ;  and  a  mirror  gives  you  vision,  instead  of  words. 

Pithy,  condensed   sayings,  which,  because  of    their  force, 

pass  into  proverbs,  and  live  forever,  commonly  take  the 

antithetic  form.     The  majority  of  the  proverbs  of  Solomon 

are  of  the  antithetic  structure. 

3.  The  intuition  of  the  orator  recognizes  the  interrogation 
as  a  tribute  to  energy  in  style.     Few  expedients  of  speech  so 

simple  as  this  are  so  effective  in  giving  vigor 

Interrogation.  l  .   .  •      f       f  „ 

to  style.  Composition  comparatively  dull 
may  be  made  comparatively  vivacious,  and   so  far  forcible, 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  I  59 

by  a  liberal  sprinkling  of  interrogatives.  Is  a  declarative 
utterance  of  a  truth  tame  ?  Put  it  as  an  inquiry.  Ask  a 
question  which  implies  it,  and  the  silent  answer  may  be 
more  impressive  to  the  hearer  than  any  words  of  yours. 
Does  an  antithetic  expression  disappoint  you  ?  Try  the 
mark  of  interrogation.  Put  it  to  the  hearer  as  if  he  must 
sharpen  it  by  a  response.  It  is  not  meant  that  this  is  to  be 
put  on  mechanically,  but  that  you  should  throw  your  own 
mind  into  the  mood  of  colloquy.  Single  out  one  man  in 
your  audience,  and  talk  with  him.  Jeremiah  Mason,  who 
contested  with  Daniel  Webster  the  head-  Method  of  jere- 
ship  of  the  Boston  bar,  used,  in  addressing  miah  Mason- 
juries,  to  single  out  one  man  in  the  jury-box,  the  man  of 
dullest  look,  of  immobile  countenance,  who  went  to  sleep 
most  easily,  and  then  directed  his  whole  plea  to  him,  keep- 
ing his  eye  upon  him  till  the  man  felt  that  he  was  watched, 
and  that  the  counsel  had  business  with  him.  That  kind  of 
impression  can  often  be  wrought  into  your  style,  and  made 
to  come  out  of  it  again  to  the  one  hearer  whom  it  is  aimed 
at.  The  effect  of  that  mental  change  in  you  will  be  magi- 
cal. The  style  which  was  humdrum  becomes  alive,  because 
you  have  come  to  life.  The  thought  springs,  because  you 
spring.  There  is  no  mechanism  about  it  :  it  is  an  honest 
expression  of  a  new  force  within  you. 

Observe  briefly  the  philosophy  of  the  interrogative.  It 
makes  a  hearer  active  in  the  reception  of  a  truth.  An 
interrogation  is  an  appeal :  an  appeal  invites  philosophy  of  the 
silent  rejoinder.  Did  you  never  see  a  hear-  interrogative, 
er's  lips  move,  or  his  head  nod  or  shake,  in  answer  to  an  in- 
terrogation from  the  speaker  ?  Again  :  interrogation  is  an 
expression  of  confidence.  It  is  a  bold  utterance,  and  there- 
fore forceful.  The  instinct  of  earnest  speech  does  not  put 
doubtful  opinions  into  the  interrogative  style.  Confidence  of  the 
If  we  doubt,  we  do  not  give  the  hearer  a  interrogative. 
chance  to  reply,  even  silently  :  therefore  we  say  our  say,  but 


l6o        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

ask  no  questions.  This  is  the  instinct  of  keen  oratory.  In- 
terrogation is  the  electric  wire  which  carries  from  speaker 
to  hearer  the  sign  of  vivid  conviction.  Hence  arises  the 
popularity  of  interrogatives  among  earnest  talkers.  The 
common  people,  when  roused,  spring  to  the  interrogative. 
Men  scold  in  interrogatives.  This  is  only  the  vulgar 
counterpart  of  the  same  feature  in  the  philippics  of  De- 
mosthenes. 

Further  :  the  interrogative  style  invites,  yes,  commands, 
an  animated  delivery.  He  must  be  a  remarkable  speaker 
Effect  in  deiiv-  wno  f°r  an  hour  in  succession  can  deliver 
ery-  well  declarative  sentences  without  an  inter- 

rogative break.  No  matter  how  weighty  nor  how  skilfully 
constructed,  a  speech  gets  nothing  if  it  asks  nothing.  The 
elocution  natural  to  it  flattens  it.  On  the  contrary,  he 
must  be  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made  who  cannot  in 
public  speech  put  life  into  a  question.  Can  you  drawl  a 
question  ?  Can  you  sing  a  question  ?  Can  you  make  hum- 
drum of  question  ?  Can  you  deliver  a  series  of  questions 
without  a  quickening  of  your  elocution  ?  Try  it.  Experi- 
ment on  Shylock's  talk  with  Salarino  :  "  I  am  a  Jew.  Hath 
not  a  Jew  eyes  ?  Hath  not  a  Jew  hands  ?  If  you  prick  us, 
do  we  not  bleed  ?  If  you  tickle  us,  do  we  not  laugh  ?  If 
you  poison  us,  do  we  not  die  ?  And,  if  you  wrong  us,  shall 
we  not  revenge  ?  "  If  the  interrogative  could  do  nothing  else 
than  to  energize  delivery  it  would  be  indispensable  to  a  forcible 
style  for  that. 

4.  A  modification  of  this  figure  is  found   in  the  colloquy. 

This  was  formerly  employed  in  public  speech  more  freely 

„  than  now.     Question  and  answer,  with  ques- 

Colloquy.  .  ,        .    .  . 

tion  again  and  rejoinder,  have  often  given  an 
energetic  presentation  of  argument.  This  form  of  discussion 
by  disputation,  as  you  are  are  aware,  was  abundantly  used 
by  the  ancient  philosophers.  Some  of  the  most  impassioned 
passages  of  the  Bible  are  in  this  style. 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  l6l 

5.  It  scarcely  needs  a  reminder  XhsX  hyperbole  is  a  favorite 
figure  of  rhetoric  among"energetic  writers.'    Anything  adds 
force  to   style  which  expresses 'strength    of 
conviction   in   the  speaker.     This  hyperbole         >PC 
obviously  does.     It  needs  only  the  caution  that  the  speaker 
should  not  allow  it  to  pass  for  reckless  assertion. 

6.  The  forcibleness  of  irony  needs  no  illustration.  It 
needs,  rather,  to  be  flanked  with  cautions,  of  which  one  is, 
that  it  should  not  be  a  favorite  with  a  public 

speaker.     As  an  instrument  of  serious  speech, 
it  is  corrosive.     In  itself  it  repels  good  feeling. 

7.  The  figure  of  exclamation  deserves  a  caution  rather 
than  commendation.  It  is  very  easy  composition  ;  it  is  a 
facile  way  of  beginning  a  sentence  :  therefore 

.  .       ,  -     .  .  ,   .  Exclamation. 

we  employ  it  excessively.  It  is  a  sign  of  in- 
dolent composing.  Our  inquiry,  therefore,  should  be,  When 
may  we  omit  it  ?  and  our  rule  to  dispense  with  it  whenever 
we  can.  Dean  Swift  commends  a  reader  who  said  it  was 
his  rule  to  pass  over  every  paragraph  in  reading,  at  the  end 
of  which  his  eye  detected  the  note  of  exclamation.  Home 
Tooke  denied  that  exclamations  belong  to  language  :  he 
said  they  were  involuntary  nervous  affections,  like  sneezing, 
coughing,  yawning. 

8.  A  speaker  who  is  perfect  master  of  his  imagination 
will  sometimes  instinctively  choose  the  figure  of  vision  to 
express  his  most  powerful  conceptions.     The 

Vision. 

life  which  it  gives  to  style  is  splendidly  illus- 
trated in  some  of  the  prophecies.  The  strictly  prophetic 
state  was  a  state  of  vision  of  the  distant  future.  Yet  note 
how  instinctively  secular  oratory  adopts  the  same  expedient. 
Napoleon,  to  his  soldiers  in  Italy,  says,  "  You  will  soon  re- 
turn to  your  homes  ;  and  your  fellow-citizens  will  say  of 
you,  as  you  pass,  '  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  Italy.'  " 
So  the  inspired  writer  says,  "  Of  Zion  it  shall  be  said,  This 
and  that  man  was  born  in  her."  But,  because  it  is  so  pow- 
11 


1 62        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

erful,  it  needs  a  master  of  speech  to  execute  it  well.  It  is 
one  of  the  expedients  of  style  which  lie  on  the  border-line 
between  the  sublime  and  the  ridiculous.  Less  than  the  pro- 
verbial "  step  "  separates  them. 

9.  The  most  passionate  forms  of  eloquence  employ  the 

apostrophe   with   power.      The    most   notable 

example  of  this  figure  in  secular  literature  is 

Mark  Antony's  apostrophe,  as  represented  by  Shakespeare 

over  the  dead  body  of  Csesar. 

Is  the  exclamatory  use  of  the  name  of  God  to  be  vindi- 
cated as  rhetorical  apostrophe  ?     "  My  God  !  "   "  O  God  !  " 
"  Good    God  !  "    "  In   God's   Name  !  "  —  are 

Use  of  the  name 

ofGodasapos-  these  apostrophes  ?  I  he  Rev.  Dr.  Nott,  the 
trophe.  celebrated  president  of  Union  College,  de- 

fended and  used  them.  The  piety  of  the  American  Con- 
gress often  utters  its  devout  aspirations  in  this  form.  But 
these  expressions  are  exclamatory,  not  apostrophic.  The 
use  of  them  in  oratory  is  of  pagan  origin.  Greek  poetry  is 
full  of  them  :  we  owe  them  primarily  to  Homer.  They 
were  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  Greek  idea  of  the  gods  : 
rhetorically,  therefore,  they  were  not  a  blemish  in  Greek 
oratory.  Christian  theism,  however,  condemns  them  moral- 
ly, and  therefore  Christian  taste  condemns  them  rhetori- 
cally. 

These  are  the  chief  of  the  figures  of  rhetoric  which  the 
oratorical  instinct  has  originated  to  assist  its  most  forcible 
The  charm  of  utterances.  The  charm  of  them  lies  in  their 
these  figures.  variety  :  no  one  should  be  a  favorite  with  a 
writer  or  speaker.  The  thing  needed  is  the  cultivated  in- 
stinct, which  shall  choose  them  wisely.  But  the  chief  ob- 
servation which  criticism  has  to  make  upon  them  is,  that 
The  power  of  they  a?i  imply  force  of  emotion  on  the  part  of 
these  figures.  tju  spea]ier_  Manufacture  them,  and  they 
are  but  wooden  playthings.  They  reflect  significance  back 
upon  the  principle  with  which   these  discussions  began — 


ENERGY  AND  LANGUAGE  1 63 

that  a  writer  must  write,  and  a  speaker  must  speak,  from 
the  honest  state  of  his  own  mind.  That  state  must  be  such 
that  he  can  write,  and  can  speak,  with  honest  enthusiasm. 
Nothing  is  powerful  in  speech  which  is  not  sincere.  The 
inspiration  which  shall  command  and  use  these  expedients 
of  style  must  be,  as  one  critic  has  expressed  it,  "not  put  on 
from  without,  but  put  out  from  within." 


ANALYSIS. 

ENERGY   AND    LANGUAGE   (CONCLUDED). 

I.  Figurative  Language  an  Element  of  Energy  of  Style. 

A.  Two  Preliminaries  to  the  Discussion  of  Figurative  Lan- 
guage. 

II.  Kinds  of  Figurative  Language. 

1.  Climax. 

2.  Antithesis. 

3.  Interrogation. 

4.  Colloquy. 

5.  Hyperbole. 

6.  Irony. 

7.  Exclamation. 

8.  Vision. 

9.  Apostrophe. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

ELEGANCE   OF   STYLE 

I. — Definition  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

A  very  vital  quality,  which  is  in  many  respects  the  op- 
posite of  energy,  is  elegance  of  style.  It  may  be  concisely 
defined  as  the  quality  by  which  thought  as  expressed  in  language 
appeals  to  our  sense  of  the  beautiful. 

Beauty,  like  strength,  is  one  of  our  ultimate  conceptions. 
We  cannot  define  it  but  by  the  use  of  synonyms,  which,  in 
An  ultimate  return  fall  back  upon  it  for  their  own  mean- 

conception.  mg_     Ruskin    says,    that    the    question    why 

some  material  objects  seem  beautiful  to  us,  and  others  not, 
is  "  no  more  to  be  asked  than  why  we  like  sugar,  and  dis- 
like wormwood."  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  declares,  that,  if  an 
African  artist  were  to  paint  his  ideal  of  beauty,  he  would 
produce  a  person  of  black  glossy  skin,  flat  nose,  thick  lips, 
and  woolly  hair.  He  also  affirms  that  the  artist  would  be 
right  :  so  greatly  does  the  conception  of  beauty  depend  on 
association. 

Beauty  in  style,  however,  admits  of  partial  analysis.  In  it 
are  found  three  distinct  elements,  one  or  more  of  which  exist 
A  partial  m  all  elegant  composition,  and  all  of  which 

analysis.  are  discoveraole  in  the  most  perfect  forms  of 

elegant  speech.  These  elements  are  delicacy,  vividness,  and 
variety. 

II. — Delicacy  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

Elegance  of  style,  then,  may  be  first  considered  as  de- 
pendent on  the  element  of  delicacy. 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  165 

1.  And,  first,  it  has  its  foundation  in  delicacy  of  thought. 
In  "The  Essay  on  the  Sublime  and  the  Beautiful,"  Edmund 
Burke  approaches  this  view  by  claiming  that  Smaiiness  of 
smallness  in  an  object  is  essential  to  its  object, 
beauty.  He  observes,  "  When  nature  would  make  anything 
specially  rare  and  beautiful,  she  makes  it  little.  Everybody 
calls  that  little  which  they  love  best  on  earth."  An  affec- 
tionate husband  is  apt  to  call  his  wife  little,  though  she  may 
weigh  two  hundred  pounds.  Dr.  Johnson's  wife  was  of 
nearly  twice  his  own  age  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  ;  she 
was  coarse  and  stout  in  person  ;  she  was  affected  in  man- 
ners, and  petulant  in  disposition  ;  and  he  was  far  from 
being  a  man  of  refined  feeling  :  yet  he  used  to  speak  of 
her  as  his  "  dear  Letty,"  as  a  child  might  speak  of  a  pet 
kitten.  The  diminutive  he  coined  out  of  her  name,  "  Eliza- 
beth." 

2.  Of  beauty  in  style,  that  element  which  most  nearly  re- 
sembles this  of  smallness  in  Burke's  analysis  is  delicacy.    It 

is,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  the  feminine  quality        ^  ,. 

'  J  ...  Delicacy    the 

in  thought.     Is  there  not  a  diversity  in  truth       feminine  quai- 

,.  ,•  ..         c  i  it v  in  thought. 

corresponding  to  diversity  of  sex  in  human  ' 
character?  Truths  are  masculine  and  feminine  in  their 
affinities.  Woman  originates  certain  conceptions  more 
readily  than  man,  and  appreciates  them  more  keenly. 
Other  conceptions  the  masculine  mind  grasps  the  more  pro- 
foundly. The  literature  produced  by  the  two  sexes  will 
bear  traces  of  this  diversity,  except  in  sporadic  cases  in 
which  the  one  sex  is  rabid  with  the  craving  to  be  the  other. 
Certain  discoveries  in  science,  certain  works  of  art,  certain 
truths  of  religion,  woman  will  not  naturally  originate,  any 
more  than  she  will  naturally  be  a  drummer,  or  choose  a 
trombone  as  the  accompaniment  of  her  songs. 

Elegance  of  style,  to  repeat,  groups  within  its  range  of 
expression  these  feminine  qualities  of  thought.  No  genuine 
beauty  can  exist  in  literary  expression  without  them.     Can 


1 66        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

you  by  any  description  of  it  in  language  make  chain-light- 
ning beautiful  ?  Can  you  so  describe  in  words  the  boom  of 
Diversities  in  a  cannon  that  it  shall  appear  in  gentle  undu- 
style-  lations  of  beauty  ?     But  can  you,  in  descrip- 

tive style,  so  represent  a  moss-rose,  or  the  airs  of  a  flute, 
that  they  shall  seem  other  than  beautiful  ? 


III. — Prejudices  Against  an  Elegant  Style. 

The  principle  in  question  refutes  a  certain  prejudice 
against  an  elegant  style.  Elegant  taste  in  anything  lives 
__  .   ,.  at  the  risk  of  being  despised.     Even  among 

Prejudice  . 

against  an  ele-  able  writers,  elegance  and  effeminacy  are 
often  treated  as  synonyms.  The  Jewish 
prayer  of  thanksgiving,  "  Lord,  I  thank  thee  that  I  was  not 
born  a  woman  !  "  finds  its  kindred  among  literary  tastes 
and  canons  of  criticism.  Such  is  the  reverence  often  felt 
for  Gothic  strength  in  speech,  that  elegance  of  diction  is 
condemned  without  a  hearing.  We  study  to  be  perspicu- 
ous, because  we  must  be  understood.  We  study  precision, 
purity,  and,  above  all,  force  in  style,  because  these  add 
power  to  clearness.  But  of  an  elegant  style  we  are  apt  to 
think  as  Wesley  did  of  the  manners  of  a  gentleman,  when 
he  told  his  youthful  preachers  that  they  "had  no  more  busi- 
ness to  be  gentlemen  than  to  be  dancing-masters." 

i.  This  prejudice  is  intensified  by  our  English  temperament. 
The  English  mind,  and,  as  an  offshoot  of  it,  the  American 
Our  tempera-  mind  as  well,  are  not  partial  to  the  elegant 
ment"  qualities,  specially  in  public  oral  address.    We 

are  jealous  for  our  strength.  We  are  proud  of  our  Saxon 
stock.  We  are,  therefore,  morbidly  afraid  of  imposing  on 
ourselves  by  elegant  literary  forms.  We  are  in  this  respect 
what  our  language  is,  hardy,  rough,  careless  of  ease.  The 
languages  and  temperaments  of  Southern  Europe  are  in  this 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 67 

respect  our  opposites.     We  have  cultivated  learning  at  the 
expense  of  taste  ;  they,  taste  at  the  expense  of  learning. 

2.  This  prejudice,  moreover,  is  often  aggravated  by  affecta- 
tions of  the  beautiful  in  literary  expression.  Affectations  cre- 
ate caricatures  of  beauty  :  these  repel  taste,  Literary  affecta- 
as  they  repel  good  sense.  tlons- 

3.  All  this,  and  more,  might  be  said  in  defence  of  the 
prejudice  against  elegant  discourse.    Still,  what  is  to  be  said 
in  view  of  the  immense  preponderance  of  beautiful  thought 
within  the   compass  of  language.     Does  not   the   material 
world    present    an    obvious    ascendency   of      Answers  to  this 
beauty  over  force,  over  sublimity  even  ?  The      prejudice, 
profusion  of  creative  energy  is  nowhere  else  seen  so  clearly 
as  in  the  sportive  production  of  objects  beautiful  to  the  eye. 
So  far  as  we  know,  many  of  them  have  no  other  reason  for 
their  creation  than  their  passive  beauty.     Naturalists  have 
conjectured  that  the  more  gorgeous  species    The  beautiful  in 
of  the  butterfly  have  a  sense  of  beauty  which    nature- 
enables  them  to  enjoy  the  variegated  coloring  of  their  own 
forms.     They  are   believed  to  rest  from  their  foraging  ex- 
peditions, on  the  cool  surface  of  a  leaf,  in  silent  and  tran- 
quil joy  at  the  magnificence  of  their  expanded  wings.     So 
lavish  is  Nature  in  its  creation  of  the  beautiful,  and  its  pro- 
vision of  the  sense  of  beauty  to  respond  to  it  through  the 
sentient  universe.  Is  not  this  emblematic  of  a  similar  profu- 
sion in  the  spiritual  world  ?     How  is  it  with  perfected  forms 
of  human  character  ?    Which  is  there  in  the    The  beautifu]  in 
ascendent — beauty,  or  strength  ?    To  ask  this    human     charac- 
question  is  to  answer  it.     Energy  we  find  in 

savage  mind.  The  ultimate  fruitage  of  culture  we  sum  up 
under  the  title  of  the  "  refinements  of  civilization."  A  ripe 
mind  of  evenly  balanced  sensibilities  will  discover  in  tin- 
world  of  thought,  which  is  its  mental  atmosphere,  more  of 
beauty  than  of  any  other  single  quality. 

The  dependence  of  elegance  on  delicacy  of  thought  sug- 


1 68        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

gests,  further,  the  true  reply  to  that  theoretic  error  which 
restricts  elegance  to  ornament.     Beauty  in  discourse  inter- 
ests in  proportion  to  its  expression  of  charac- 

Elegance  not  *  .  * 

simply  orna-  ter.     That  is  not  beauty  of  high  order  which 

is  not  full  of  character  of  high  order.  Often, 
therefore,  the  thing  which  juvenile  discourse  chiefly  needs 
is  to  diminish  its  adornment.  Its  elegance  needs  to  be 
brought  down  to  a  level  with  its  real  character  as  the  herald 
of  thought.  Some  passages  in  Wordsworth's  poetry,  in 
Poetry  of  which   he   dwells  fondly  on  natural   scenery, 

Wordsworth.  are  dull.  They  are  true  to  fact;  they  are 
polished  in  form  ;  they  are  melodious  on  the  lips.  A  good 
rehearser  of  them,  on  a  calm  summer's  day,  would  give  them 
in  tranquil  recitative,  which  would  soothe  a  tired  hearer ;  but 
they  would  not  interest  an  alert  one.  To  such  a  one  they 
are  dull.  Why  ?  Because  they  lack  thought  proportioned 
to  their  elaborateness  of  form.  They  fondle  commonplaces 
in  the  works  of  Nature  :  they  make  as  much  of  an  apple- 
blossom  as  of  a  tropical  garden.  Nothing  in  literary  forms 
makes  the  impression  of  beauty  which  does  not  carry 
thought  enough  to  constitute  a  certain  ballast  to  the  form. 
Ornament  achieves  nothing  above  its  own  weight  in 
thought. 

Nevertheless,  profusion  of  ornament  is  beautiful  if  de- 
manded by  thought.  If  the  nature  of  a  subject  be  such 
Ornament  beau-  that  the  most  characteristic  expression  of  it 
mandied  by  e  requires  elaborate  adornment,  that  elaborate 
thought.  adornment  is  beauty.     As  the  material  world 

abounds  with  such  forms  of  beauty,  and  as  the  fine  arts  are 
immortalized  by  them,  so  does  style  often  express  them  in 
language. 

Again  :  that  is  not  an  elegant  style  in  which  beauty  of 
form  is  excessive  in  degree.  Often,  as  has  been  before  re- 
marked, a  speaker's  thought  is  not  weighty  enough  to  sus- 
tain elaborated  style  of  any  kind,  and,  least  of  all,  elab- 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 69 

orated  imagery.  Architects  tells  us,  that  a  small  specimen 
of  the  Gothic  architecture  is  of  necessity  in  bad  taste. 
No  matter  how  perfectly  finished,  it  cannot    ,, 

XjVCCSSIVC     DCT.11- 

be  good  art.  The  reason  they  give  is,  that  ty  of  style  not  an 
the  profusion  of  ornament  which  the  Gothic  elegant  style- 
order  requires  cannot  be  compressed  into  a  small  area. 
It  must  have  vast  spaces,  massive  pillars,  huge  vaults  in 
the  ceiling,  immense  windows,  prolonged  distances  in  nave 
and  transept.  Everything  about  it  must  be  congruous  with 
the  grand  and  the  magnificent.  Therefore  a  Gothic  cathe- 
dral in  miniature  is  a  contradiction.  So  it  is  often  with 
the  expression  of  thought  in  language. 

IV. — Means  of  Acquiring  Delicacy  of  Thought. 

The  foundation  of  elegance  in  delicacy  of  thought  sug- 
gests, further,  that  we  must  find  the  fundamental  means  of 
cultivating  this  quality  in  the  cultivation  of  Refinement  of 
refinement  of  perception.  Refinement  in  our  perception  to 
habits  of  t/iinki/ig,  the  habit  of  dwelling  upon  for  delicacy  in 
the  beautiful  in  literature,  distinguishing  va-  thou&ht- 
rieties  of  beauty,  studying  illustrations  of  beauty  in  external 
nature,  observing  analogies  between  the  beautiful  in  nature  and 
art  and  the  beautiful  in  language,  genial  criticism  of  the  best 
poetry,  studious  enjoyment  of  the  best  imagery  in  prose,  attention 
to  minuticB  of  style  in  which  elegance  of  construction  chiefly  ap- 
pears :  in  short,  any  and  every  exercise  of  mind  which 
brings  into  chastened  play  that  sensibility  to  the  beautiful 
which  every  mind  possesses,  will  refine  our  taste,  and  make 
our  perceptions  of  beauty  truthful  and  prompt. 

This  leads  us  to  observe,  that  all  writers  and  speakers 
may  possess  it.  It  is  a  growth  of  that  of  which  the  germ 
exists  in  every  mind.  No  man  can  escape  it  who  aims  per- 
sistently at  anything  like  concinnity  of  culture.  That  is 
a  fiction  which  some  youthful  writers  entertain,  that  their 


170        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

minds  are  not  fitted  to  the  cultivation  of  those   qualities 

which  beauty  in  style  represents.     Clear  writers  they  may 

become,  forcible  writers,  precise  writers,  pro- 
All  may  have  .'  '  l  '  r 

this  delicacy  of  lific  writers  perhaps,  but  not  elegant  writers. 
"  The  graces  of  rhetoric,"  says  such  an 
one,  "are  not  for  me."  He  narrows  his  culture,  and  con- 
tracts the  range  of  his  power  in  public  speech  immensely, 
who  subjects  himself  to  any  such  restriction.  The  ele- 
ments which  refined  taste  imparts  to  oral  speech  are  no 
more  "  the  graces  of  rhetoric "  than  those  which  energy 
imparts  are  the  forces  of  rhetoric.  They  are  graces  of 
mind,  innate  in  every  mind,  susceptible  of  growth  in  every 
mental  life,  inevitable  to  any  mind  which  is  disciplined  by 
prolonged  and  symmetrical  culture. 

ANALYSIS. 

ELEGANCE   OF   STYLE. 

I.  Definition. 

A.  An  Ultimate  Conception. 

B.  A  Partial  Analysis. 

II.  Delicacy  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

1.  Smallness  of  Object  Essential  to  Beauty. 

2.  Delicacy  the  Feminine  Quality  in  Thought. 

III.  Prejudice  against  an  Elegant  Style. 

1.  Prejudice  Intensified  by  Our  Temperament. 

2.  Prejudice  often  Aggravated  by  Literary  Affectations. 

3.  Answers  to  this  Prejudice. 

(a)  Perfected  Forms  of  Nature. 

(b)  Perfected  Forms  of  Human  Character. 

(c)  Elegance  not  Simply  Ornament. 

(d)  Excessive  Beauty  of  Form  not  an  Elegant  Style. 

IV.  Means  of  Acquiring  Delicacy  of  Thought. 

1.  By  Cultivating  Refinement  of  Perception. 

2.  By  Believing  it  a  Possible  Attainment  for  Everyone. 


CHAPTER  XX 

ELEGANCE  OF  STYLE  (CONTINUED) 

The  dependence  of  elegance  of  style  on  delicacy  gives 
rise  also  to  a  second  demand  — that  of  delicacy  of  expres- 
sion in  the  utterance  of  thought.  Beauty  in  thought  is 
more  difficult  of  expression  than  energy  in  thought :  it  re- 
quires a  more  sensitive  discrimination  of  the  significance 
of  language. 

I. — Offences    Against  Elegance   of    Style   in    Choice 
and  Arrangement  of  Words. 

An  elegant  style,  therefore,  demands  a  more  choice  se- 
lection and  arrangement  of  words.  This  obvious  principle 
has  also  significant  corollaries. 

It  suggests,  in  the  first  place,  a  large  class  of  offences 
against  elegance  of  style.  They  are  that  class  which  re- 
sults,   not   from    unfitness    of    thought,    but    IT 

'  Uncouth  words. 

from  inelegant  language.  The  choice  of  a 
vocabulary  may  disclose  these  defects.  Words  have  their 
aristocracy.  Some  have  a  noble  birth  ;  a  magnificent  his- 
tory lies  behind  them  ;  they  were  born  amidst  the  swelling 
and  the  bursting  into  life  of  great  ideas.  On  the  contrary, 
there  are  words  which  have  plebeian  associations.  Some 
are  difficult  of  enunciation  ;  and,  by  a  secret  sympathy,  the 
mind  attaches  to  them  the  distortion,  perhaps  the  pain,  of 
the  vocal  organs  in  their  utterance.  A  single  uncouth 
word  may  be  to  style  what  an  uncontrollable  grimace  is  to 
the  countenance.     Neither  is  a  thing  of  beauty.       Words 


172         RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

not  inelegant  in  themselves  become  so  through  pedestrian 
associations  which  colloquial  usage  affixes  to  them.  Our 
Yankee  favorite  "guess"   is  a  perfectly  good  word,  pure 

"  Guess  "  English,  of  good  stock,  and  long  standing  in 
the  language.  A  better  word,  in  itself  consid- 
ered, we  have  not  in  English  use.  But  because  it  is  a  col- 
loquial favorite,  used  by  everybody,  on  every  variety  of 
subject  and  occasion,  and  often  in  a  degraded  sense,  as  in 
the  compound  "guess-work,"  it  has  become  vulgar  in  the 
sense  of  "  common  ;  "  so  that  in  many  connections  in  which 
the  real  meaning  of  it  would  be  entirely  pertinent,  the  word 
would  be  inelegant.  "  Conjecture,"  or  some  equivalent, 
must  take  its  place. 

Wordsworth's  poetry,  again,  is  not  wholly  defensible  from 
the  charge  of  using  in  poetic  measure  an  inelegant  vocabu- 

The  vocabulary    ^'^     He  believed  in  the  poetry  of  common 
of  Wordsworth's    things,   common    thoughts,   common  people, 

poetry.  .     .     .  . 

and  their  common  affairs.  It  was  the  aim  of 
his  life  to  lift  up  into  the  atmosphere  of  romance  things 
lowly  and  obscure.  But,  in  his  attempt  to  effect  that  revo- 
lution, he  did  lean  to  an  extreme.  Even  his  regal  imagina- 
tion could  not  dignify  such  lines  as  these,  viz.  : — 

"  A  household  tub,  like  one  of  those 
Which  women  use  to  wash  their  clothes." 

But  an  objector  inquires,  and  perhaps  with  half-sup- 
pressed indignation,  "  Is  it  not  good  English  ?  and,  if  so,  must 
we  drop  it  because  it  is  not  elegant  ?  "  The  answer  is,  yes 
Good  English  t0  both  Queries.  It  is  good  English,  yet  not 
but  not  good  good  poetry.  If  the  idea  is  to  be  expressed 
at  all  in  poetry — and  it  is  not  to  be  denied 
that  it  may  be  so  expressed  as  to  escape  criticism — it  must 
be  by  such  a  choice  of  language  as  shall  conceal  the  steam 
and  the  soap  of  a  washtub  under  some  euphemism  which 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 73 

shall  be  to  the  idea  what  the  rainbow,  which  is  sometimes 
seen  over  a  washtub,  is  to  that  very  necessary  but  homely 
article  of  household  use.  When  beauty  is  to  be  expressed, 
we  must  have  a  choice  vocabulary.  If  Thomas  Hood  could, 
by  "  The  Song  of  the  Shirt,"  throw  a  poetic  halo  over  a  very 
humble  article  of  his  daily  toilet,  why  may  not  his  equal  do 
the  same  service  for  the  weekly  laundry  ?  But  not  by  the 
extreme  literalism  of  Wordsworth's  vocabulary. 

II. — Offences   against    Elegance  of  Style  in  Con- 
struction. 

Constructions,  also,  are  exposed  to  peril  of  inelegance. 
Certain  varieties  of  them  impress  us,  first  and  last  and  al- 
ways, with  their  want  of  ease  ;  and,  no  ease,  no  beauty.  It 
is  as  difficult  to  define  them  as  to  create  them,  yet  illustra- 
tion by  examples  would  tax  your  patience  beyond  endurance. 
Few  things  are  so  unutterably  dull  as  specimens  of  faulty 
construction  in  discourse,  unless  they  are  of  the  comic 
sort ;  and  those  would  not  be  to  the  present  purpose.  Per- 
haps the  following  hints  will  be  sufficient  to  recall  them  to 
you  in  your  reading. 

One  is  the  bungling  construction  of  dependent  clauses. 
These  are  huddled  together,  and  seem  to  tumble  over  each 
other.     Mellifluous  utterance  of  them  is  im-  Dependent 

practicable.      They  are  the   despair   of   the  clauses, 

elocutionist.  They  seem  as  if  the  sole  ambition  of  the 
writer  had  been  to  be  able  to  say,  as  De  Quincey  said  of  the 
German  sentence,  "They  are  all  there."  Another  is  the 
military  sentence.  The  materials  march  out  as  if  on  drill. 
They  drop  into  rank  too  knowingly  to  be  lively.  Excess  of 
order  is  never  beautiful,  because  never  life-like.  Another 
is  the  misplaced  or  excessive  inversion  of  structure.  The 
thoughts  appear  to  move  like  a  crab  ;  are  dragged  forth — 
the  first  last,  and  the  last  first,  and  all  looking  the  wrong 


174        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

way — after  the  manner  of  the  stolen  oxen  backing  into  the 
cave  of  Cacus.  Another  is  the  dislocated  structure.  Con- 
nectives are  either  absent,  or  misplaced,  or  meaningless. 
The  style  jolts,  like  an  uneasy  vehicle  on  corduroy 
roads. 

These  constructions  may  be  sufficiently  perspicuous. 
They  are  often  consistent  with  a  good  degree  of  energy. 
Cromwell's  speeches  are  full  of  them.  Yet 
he  made  himself  understood,  and  so  well  un- 
derstood that  the  English  Parliament  did  not  care  to  ask 
him  what  he  meant  a  second  time.  But  such  constructions 
are  not  elegant.  There  is  no  comeliness  in  them.  It  would 
be  a  hard  task  to  set  Cromwell's  speeches  to  the  measure  of 
a  chant,  or  even  to  make  an  Italian,  with  vocal  organs 
trained  to  the  most  euphonious  language  in  the  world,  re- 
hearse them  at  all. 

III. — Offences  Against  Elegance  of  Style  in  Imagery. 

i.  A  similar  defect  betrays  itself  in  inelegance  of  imagery. 
Imagery  is  painting  in  words  :  any  blemish  impairs  its 
inelegance  of  beauty.  Therefore  coarse  imagery  cannot 
imagery.  express  beauty    in   thought.      Imagery    the 

picture   of  which   disgusts   the    mind's   eye   degrades    the 
thought  it  represents.      This  is   sometimes   the   designed 
effect.     Macaulav  designs  it  when  he    says, 

Macaulay.  J  &  '    ' 

"  after  the  Restoration,  peerages  were  sold  at 
Whitehall  scarcely  less  openly  than  asparagus  at  Covent 
Garden,  or  herrings  at  Billingsgate."  The  image  of  an 
English  coronet  side  by  side  with  a  bunch  of  asparagus  and 
a  red  herring  paints  the  degradation  of  the  peerage  as  no 
literal  description  could.  But  Jeremy  Taylor  wrought  the 
same  effect,  though  undesignedly,  when  he  compared  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  to  "  an  umbrella,"  because  "  men  used 
them  to  shelter  unholy  living." 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 75 

2.  For  the  same  reason,  commonplace  in  imagery  cannot 
express,  and  still  less  can  it  impress,  the  beautiful  in 
thought.  A  metaphor  elegantly  impressive  Commonplace 
when  it  was  new  may  degrade  an  idea  now  imagery. 
because  of  its  excessive  use.  Imagery  wears  out,  as  the 
gloss  of  silk  does.  The  metaphor  of  the  pebble,  which 
creates  ever-widening  rings  when  dropped  into  the  water,  is 
an  example.  Few  figures  of  speech  bear  criticism  better 
than  this.  When  it  was  original,  it  can  scarcely  have  had 
its  superior  for  beauty  or  suggestiveness.  But  does  the 
memory  of  man  go  back  to  the  time  when  it  was  original  ? 
It  is  exhausted  :  it  needs  to  be  allowed  to  slumber  in  obliv- 
ion. It  should  be  disused  till  a  future  age  shall  re-invent 
it.  So  powerful  is  originality  in  pictured  speech,  that  it 
will  often  ennoble  a  commonplace  thought.  A  conception 
which  we  had  ceased  to  feel  the  force  of  because  of  our 
monotonous  familiarity  with  it,  an  original  figure  will  often 
uplift,  somewhat  as  death  hallows  in  our  memory  a  com- 
monplace character. 

3.  Again  :  unfinished  imagery  cannot  express  beauty  in 
thought.  A  metaphor  unsustained,  and  therefore  incom- 
plete, conveys  no  impression  of  elegance.  Unfinished 
Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  finical  imagery  is  imagery, 
equally  powerless.  To  be  overwrought  changes  imagery  to 
finery.  The  impression  is  that  of  pettiness,  not  of  beauty. 
What  is  the  defect  in  the  message  of  the  martyr  Ridley  to 
his  fellow-sufferer  Hooper  as  they  were  going  to  the  stake  ? 
— "  We  have  been  two  in  white  :  let  us  be  one  in  red  !  "  It 
speaks  something  for  the  nerve  of  a  man,  that  he  can  crack 
his  joke  within  sight  of  the  pile  which  will  soon  shrivel  his 
tongue  to  a  cinder.  But  what  can  we  say  for  the  good 
taste  of  a  man  who  can  so  treat  such  a  death  ?  We  might 
expect  it  from  a  hunter  in  the  backwoods,  in  view  of  In- 
dian torture,  but  not  from  a  bishop  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. 


176        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

4.  Further  :  mongrel  imagery  does  not  express  beauty. 
Above  all  things  else,  beauty  is  self-consistent.  Incongru- 
Mongrel  ity  is  death  to  it.     At  an  international  exhib- 

lmagery.  ition  of  the   industrial   arts   in  Vienna,  was 

seen  the  figure  of  a  kneeling  Samuel,  of  the  size  of  life, 
moulded  of  castile  -  soap.  Why  was  it  not  "  a  thing  of 
beauty  "  ?  Yet  is  Bishop  Heber  more  successful  in  his  at- 
tempt to  improve  the  magnificent  imagery  of  Milton  ?  Mil- 
ton sees  in  poetic  vision  "  the  gates  of  heaven  on  golden 
hinges  turning."  Why  is  it  that  Heber  fails,  when  he  at- 
tempts to  save  himself  from  plagiarism  by  representing  the 
gates  of  heaven  as  "  rolling  back  on  their  starry  hinges  "  ? 

IV. — Elegance  an  Aid  to  Other  Qualities  of  Style. 

Before  leaving  this  class  of  offences  against  elegance  in 
style,  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  by  avoiding  them,  a  cer- 
Eiegance  and  tam  degree  of  beauty  may  be  infused  into 
energy.  other  qualities  of  style.     The  polish  of  a  steel 

blade  contributes  to  the  keenness  of  its  edge  ;  so  elegance 
may  enhance  perspicuity,  or  precision,  or  energy  of  lan- 
guage. True,  in  such  a  combination,  elegance  is  subordi- 
nate. The  style  is  not  constructed  for  it ;  the  blade  is  not 
made  for  the  polish  :  but,  as  a  tributary,  it  serves  the  pur- 
poses of  other  qualities  of  style.  An  air  of  elegance  may  be 
imparted  to  the  most  forcible  style  by  the  choice  of  a  select 
vocabulary,  by  finish  of  construction,  and  by  a  delicate  con- 
gruity  of  imagery.  Energy  is  not  always  convulsive. 
What  was  the  defect  of  the  style  of  an  eminent  preacher  in 
Maine,  who,  speaking  of  men's  rejection  of  Christ,  said  that 
"  they  treated  him  as  they  would  a  rotten  apple "  ?  It 
surely  was  not  obscurity  ;  it  was  not  weakness  :  it  was  a 
want  of  that  sensitive  taste  which  ought  to  breathe  its  deli- 
cate sense  of  fitness  into  the  plainest  phraseology  and  the 
roughest  imagery. 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 77 

In  the  works  of  nature,  it  is  remarkable  how  often  force 
and  beauty  are  ranged  side  by  side.  In  their  impression 
on  the  beholder,  they  often  intermingle.  Flowers  skirt 
the  bases  of  volcanoes  ;  rainbows  grace  the 

...  ,,  ,  T.i  t,   „  r     Falls  of  Niagara. 

retiring  thunder-storms.  In  the  Falls  of 
Niagara,  the  predominance  of  beauty  or  of  sublimity  de- 
pends on  the  mood  of  the  spectator,  both  are  so  affluent  in 
their  display.  Charles  Dickens  expressed  the  experience  of 
the  majority  of  thoughtful  travellers  in  looking  upon  them, 
when  he  said,  after  giving  utterance  to  his  overpowering 
sense  of  their  sublimity,  that  the  final  and  permanent  im- 
pression of  them,  which  would  live  in  his  memory,  was  that 
of  their  beauty.  Would  not  this  be  almost  the  sole  impres- 
sion made  by  them  upon  the  mind  of  a  deaf  man,  to  whom 
they  would  present  a  picture  only,  not  modified  by  the 
sound  of  mighty  waters  ? 

Similar  combinations  of  energy  and  elegance  are  found 
in  human  character.  The  choicest  characters  always  con- 
tain them.     The  world's    perfect  ideal  of  a    „ 

r-  ,  Force  and 

man  is  that  of  a  ge?itle-?nan.  Coleridge  re-  beauty  in  human 
marked,  that  he  had  never  met  with  a  truly 
great  man  who  had  not  a  large  infusion  of  feminine  quali- 
ties. One  is  impressed  by  the  truth  of  the  sentiment  in 
reading  the  memoir  of  Daniel  Webster.  The  ideal  which 
history  gives  us  of  a  military  character  is  one  in  which 
gentleness  adorns  the  heroic  graces.  The  Christian  ideal 
of  manly  force  is  that  of  executive  power  wreathed  with 
passive  virtues.  That  which  we  call  the  "force  of  truth" 
is  often  the  more  forceful  for  being  tempered  and  adorned 
with  the  feminine  qualities  of  thought,  and  therefore  with 
the  elegant  graces  of  expression.  They  are  best  expressed 
by  a  select  vocabulary,  by  finished  constructions,  and  by 
congruous  imagery. 

The  views  here  presented  of  the  value  of  a  refined  taste 
to  the  style  of  public  speech  need  to  be  balanced  by  a  notice 
\z 


178        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

of  the  fact  that  luxuriousness  of  taste  results  in  languor  of 

style.     This  is  the  chief  peril  of  a  studied  beauty  in  the 

, .  ,      .,       forms  of  language.     Composition  is  an  art. 

The  chief  peril  .   .  . 

of  a  studied  Elegant   composition   is  a  fine    art.     But  it 

is  liable  to  this  abuse  :  a  fastidious  taste 
attenuates  thought.  The  style  which  grows  out  of  it  tends 
to  elaborate  feebleness  through  its  expression  of  morbid 
sensibilities. 

National  literatures,  so  far  as  we  can  trace  the  stages  of 
their  decline,  die  first  at  this  point  of  effeminate  taste. 
„,,,,.       r      Softening  of  the  national  brain  begins  in  the 

The  decline  of  °  ° 

national  litera-  organ  of  ideality.  Violent  death  never 
comes  upon  a  great  literature  in  its  adult 
strength.  Barbarian  irruptions,  usurpations  in  government, 
and  the  conflagration  of  libraries,  have  come  upon  nations 
after  literary  decline  has  begun  to  show  itself.  The  fatal 
and  often  the  first  clear  sign  that  a  nation  deserves  and  is 
doomed  to  receive  such  visitations  appears  in  the  breaking- 
out  of  a  diseased  luxuriousness  of  taste  in  its  literature, 
after  a  period  of  high  culture. 

ANALYSIS. 

ELEGANCE  OF   STYLE   (CONTINUED). 

I.  Offences     against    Elegance  of  Style   in  Choice  and  Arrange- 

ment of  Words. 

1.  Uncouth  Words. 

2.  Words  Made  Inelegant  from  Vulgar  Usage. 

II.  Offences  Against  Elegance  of  Style  in  Constructions. 

1.  Dependent  Clauses. 

(a)  In  Disorder. 

(b)  In  too  Rigid  Order. 

(c)  In  too  Inverted  Order. 

III.  Offences  against  Elegance  of  Style  in  Imagery. 
I.  Inelegant  Imagery. 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 79 

2.  Commonplace  Imagery. 

3.  Unfinished  Imagery. 

4.  Mongrel  Imagery. 

IV.   Elegance  an  Aid  to  other  Qualities  of  Style. 

1.  Elegance  and  Energy. 

(a)  Force  and  Beauty  in  Nature. 

(b)  Force  and  Beauty  in  Human  Character. 

2.  Chief  Peril  of  a  Studied  Beauty. 

(a)  Decline  of  National  Literatures. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

ELEGANCE  OF  STYLE  (CONCLUDED) 

The  analysis  of  beauty  in  a  previous  chapter  leads  us  to 
consider  elegance  of  style  as  dependent,  in  the  second  place, 
on  the  element  of  vividness. 

I. — Vividness  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

Is  vagueness  of  impression  ever  desirable  in  the  ex- 
pression of  thought  by  language  ?  Yes,  it  is  sometimes  a 
necessity,  but  never  where  beauty  of  impression  is  the 
chief  aim  of  the  discourse.  Always  a  greater  or  less  degree 
Vividness  essen-  °f  vividness  enters  into  our  sense  of  the 
tial  to  beauty.  beautiful.  Why  is  a  diamond  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  gems  ?  Dealers  in  precious  stones  say  that  the  pop- 
ular taste  for  it  never  wavers.  It  is  always  salable,  and  is 
the  standard  by  which  the  value  of  other  gems  is  estimated. 
Yet  the  diamond  has  no  beauty  but  its  brilliancy.  The 
human  eye  is  the  most  vital  organ  in  producing  the  impres- 
sion of  beauty  in  a  human  countenance,  because  it  is  the  most 
vivid  object  in  the  countenance.  Poets  describe  the  sun  as 
the  "  golden  eye  "  of  the  heavens.  The  eye  suggests  life  : 
it  is  life.  All  varieties  of  beauty  in  the  eye  possess  this 
quality.  The  languid  eye  with  drooping  eyelash,  if  it  ex- 
presses beauty,  is  never  dull.  It  may  represent  life  in  re- 
pose, but  still,  life  :  no  beauty  of  countenance  fascinates  if 
it  is  blurred  by  a  dull  eye.  A  corresponding  principle  ap- 
pertains to  thought  as  expressed  in  language.  Vividness, 
in  degree  less  or  greater,  is  essential  to  all  expression  of 
beauty  in  human  speech. 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  l8l 

Perhaps  a  sufficiently  definite  qualification  of  the  vivid- 
ness which  beauty  demands  is  to  say,  that  it  must  be  such 
as  shall  consist  with  that  delicacy  of  impres-  vividness  and 
sion  which  we  have  seen  to  be  an  equal  ele-  delicacy, 
ment  of  beauty  in  discourse.  In  the  most  overpowering 
beauty  we  shall  find  something  which  tempers  vividness 
with  refinement.  In  a  tropical  flower  of  high-wrought  color- 
ing we  shall  find  refinement  of  texture,  or  gracefulness  of 
outline,  or  delicacy  in  the  shading  of  colors,  or  prismatic 
reflection  of  tints  in  the  sunlight :  otherwise  we  do  not  call 
it  beautiful,  but  gaudy.  The  same  combination  of  princi- 
ples holds  good  in  style.  Vividness  of  thought  in  high 
degree,  yet  such  degree  as  shall  consist  with  delicate  im- 
pression on  the  whole,  is  the  requisite  of  beauty.  The 
bearing  of  these  principles  upon  elegance  of  style  will  be 
seen  in  several  inferences. 

II. — The  Demands  of  Vividness. 

i.  We  infer  the  obvious  truth  that  elegance  demands 
distinctness  of  thought.  To  some  minds,  whose  conception 
of  force  is  adequate  to  a  strong  style,  the  Distinctness  of 
whole  idea  of  beauty  is  hazy.  It  comes  to  thought. 
their  consciousness  through  an  uncultivated  instinct. 
Hence  it  is,  that  juvenile  attempts  at  the  beautiful  in  lan- 
guage often  result  in  crowded  symbols  which  suggest  only 
general  ideas,  and  these  diffusely,  perhaps  tautologically. 
Similes  and  metaphors,  and  rotund  words,  and  rythmical 
constructions,  are  heaped  into  a  page  without  stint,  not  be- 
cause a  definite  beauty  of  conception  is  so  refracted  and 
multiplied  to  the  mind's  eye  as- to  demand  such  a  variety  of 
elegant  forms,  but  because  a  misty  notion  of  that  beauty  is 
in  the  writer's  mind,  and  he  hastens  t<>  give  it  shape  by  the 
patches  of  finery  which  lie  has  on  hand.  It  is  one  of  the 
thousand  deformities  of  style  in  which  form  alone  is  made 


1 82        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

to  do  the  work  of  thought.  The  hollowness  of  it  rings  in  the 
ear  of  a  discerning  critic.  The  only  adequate  corrective  of 
such  a  defect  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  intenser  think- 
ing. The  writer  is  not  yet  master  of  his  work.  He  has 
not  discovered  the  original  of  the  image  which  has  charmed 
him  in  his  dream.  He  does  not  know  whether  it  is  an 
angel,  or  a  woman,  or  a  mermaid. 

2.  From  the  necessity  of  vividness  to  beauty  in  speech, 
we  infer  further  the  necessity  of  sensitiveness  of  feeling  to 
Sensitiveness  of  those  varieties  of  eloquence  in  which  the 
feeling.  beautiful  predominates.     As  energy  in  style 

demands  force  of  feeling,  elegance  demands  sensitiveness 
of  feeling.  Both  are  founded  on  the  same  principle.  The 
thing  expressed  must  find  its  kindred  in  the  emotive  con- 
dition of  the  writer.  No  man  can  write  vividly  who  does 
not  write  with  feeling  of  some  kind.  But  there  is  a  vast 
difference  between  the  feeling  of  one  who  is  tormented  by 
a  truth,  and  that  of  one  who  broods  over  a  truth  affec- 
tionately, or  carries  on  a  mental  play  with  it. 

Are  there  not  some  writers  who  impress  you  chiefly  with 
a  sense  of  the  hardness  of  their  natures  ?  Their  discourses 
impression  made  may  be  solid,  packed  with  thought,  loaded 
by  some  writers.  wjth  iatent  force  ;  yet  they  seem  to  grind 
like  a  millstone.  The  defect  in  such  writers  is  in  their 
emotive  nature.  They  have  no  play  of  sensibility,  no 
wavelets  of  feeling,  none  of  the  tell-tale  of  a  mobile  coun- 
tenance. Their  style  betrays  all  this  on  the  principle  of 
Buffon,  that  the  style  of  a  man  is  the  man  himself. 

Men  of  this  mould  are  seldom  or  never  great  orators. 
They  may  be  great  as  men  of  affairs,  wise  on  committees, 
forceful  in  executive  miscellanies  ;  but  they  have  too  much 
wisdom,  and  too  little  of  emotive  spontaneousness,  to  be 
great  orators.  Men  noted  for  their  reticence  are  not  often 
mighty  in  eloquence.  Certain  powers  which  enter  into  all 
eloquence  are  reticent  in  them  there.     Close  reasoners  they 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 83 

may  be  in  argumentative  discourse,  but  for  the  want  of 
mobile  sensibilities,  which  express  themselves  in  pictorial 
forms  of  speech,  they  are  doomed  to  be  uninteresting,  and 
therefore  their  argument  cannot  get  a  hearing.  Delicate 
and  winsome  discourse  is  not  possible  to  such  men  in  their 
present  state  of  culture. 

3.  From  the  necessity  of  vividness  as  an  element  of 
beauty,  we  infer  further,  as  a  general  fact,  the  necessity  of 
simplicity  of  language  to  an  elegant  style.  No  simplicity  of 
other  quality  than  beauty  makes  such  an  language, 
imperative  demand  for  transparency.  One  of  the  most 
invariable  concomitants  of  beauty  in  language  is  the  ab- 
sence of  all  appearance  of  effort.  It  is  the  production  of  a 
mind  at  ease  Why  are  the  biblical  narratives  such  perfect 
specimens  of  elegance  in  historic  style  ?  The  fact  is  often 
observed,  that  the  evangelists,  in  their  reminiscences  of 
our  Lord,  never  employ  a  commendatory  epithet  in  descrip- 
tion of  his  person.  Contrast,  in  this  respect,  St  john  and 
St.  John  with  Homer.  Beauty  is  the  off-  Homer, 
spring  of  leisure.  The  writer  seems  not  to  go  in  search  of, 
or  to  struggle  for,  anything  :  he  takes  and  gives  what 
comes  to  him. 

But  the  necessity  of  simplicity  to  elegant  expression  is  a 
general  principle  :  it  has  exceptions.  Profusion  and  intri- 
cacy of  beauty  in  thought  have  their  correlatives  in  style. 
The  usual  canons  of  criticism  respecting  simplicity  must  be 
accepted  with  qualifications.  A  cultivated  taste  recoils  so 
sensitively  from  an  affected  style,  that  it  often  expresses  its 
demand  for  a  simple  diction  in  hyperbole. 

4.  From  the  dependence  of  beauty  on  vividness  of  style, 
we  infer,  yet  again,  the  importance  of  an  easy  command  of 
imagery  to   an  elegant  style.     The   origin  of 

......  &  An   easy  com- 

alphabetic  writing  suggests  the  necessity  of       mami  of  ima- 

imagery  to  vivid  speech.     The  first  form  of 

written  language  known  to  history  was  the  hieroglyph.     So 


1 84        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

the  vividness  of  written  language  at  present  depends  very 
much  upon  the  relics  of  the  hieroglyphic  element  which 
still  remains  in  every  language,  and  upon  the  imitations  of 
it  originated  by  authors  in  the  form  of  more  elaborate  im- 
agery. Write  in  pictures,  and  you  cannot  fail  to  write 
vividly.  Imagery  is  essential  to  vivid  expression,  specially 
because  the  vividness  of  beauty  must  be  felt  intuitively,  not 
derived  by  reflective  process.  It  must  reach  the  mind,  as 
vision  does,  by  a  process  which  gives  no  sense  of  duration. 

III. — Variety  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

The  third  element  named  in  our  analysis  of  beauty  leads 
us  to  consider  elegance  of  style  as  dependent  on  variety. 

Hogarth's  theory  of  the  "  line  of  beauty "  depended 
largely  upon  this  element  of  variety.  In  what  does  the 
,.  .,    beauty  of  a  curve  consist  ?  You  can  discern  in 

Variety  essential  J 

to  beauty  in  it  nothing  definable,  other  than  variety  and 

proportion.  A  straight  line  may  have  pro'- 
portion,  but  it  is  monotonous.  The  curve  adds  variety, 
and  this  results  in  the  elementary  figure  which  artists  de- 
clare to  be  inherent  in  all  beauty  of  form.  A  serpentine 
path,  the  careering  of  a  bird  in  the  air,  Connecticut  River 
as  seen  from  Mount  Holyoke,  the  Rhine  as  seen  from  the 
Castle  of  Godesberg — these,  as  examples  of  figure  and 
motion,  are  all  emblems  of  beauty  to  which  the  rudest 
nature  responds.  The  rainbow,  the  shifting  of  clouds  at 
sunset,  the  plumage  of  a  peacock,  a  mobile  countenance — 
these,  as  specimens  of  color,  are  emblems  of  beauty  ;  yet 
not  one  of  them  would  excite  our  sense  of  the  beautiful 
without  its  variety.  Music  also,  as  an  example  of  beauty  in 
sound,  cannot  exist  without  variety.  A  drum  has  none 
except  in  time  ;  and  how  much  beauty  does  a  drum  suggest? 
The  same  principle  governs  style.  Monotony,  even  of 
that  which  is  in  itself  an  excellence,  destroys  the  beauty  of 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 85 

it.  One  critic  defines  the  whole  art  of  composing  as  the 
art  of  varying  thought  skilfully.  Cutlers  tell  us,  that  the 
keenest  razor  will  lose  its  temper,  or  what-    ,T    . 

1  Variety  essential 

ever  that  is  which  gives  it  the  susceptibility  to  beauty  of 
of  taking  an  edge,  if  it  is  never  allowed  a  sty  e' 
period  of  disuse.  No  sharpening  process  will  perfect  it  for 
use  till  it  has  for  a  while  been  at  rest.  Hair-dressers  ob- 
serve the  phenomenon,  and  describe  it  by  saying  that  razors 
get  tired,  as  the  hand  does  which  wields  them.  So  is  it 
with  the  rarest  and  keenest  excellence  in  style  :  sameness 
blunts  it,  in  spite  of  the  ingenuity  expended  upon  repairs. 

IV. — Means  of  Acquiring  Variety. 

1.  How  can  variety  of  style  be  most  readily  acquired  as 
a  habit  of  the  pen  ?  The  answer  is,  first,  in  sympathy  with 
what  has  been  already  said,  that  variety  of  Versatility  of 
style  must  have  its  foundation  in  versatility  of  thought. 
thought.  Thought  in  a  versatile  mind  may  compel  variety 
in  its  utterance.  On  the  contrary,  thought  in  a  common- 
place mind  may  be  so  monotonous  that  no  art  can  create 
variety  in  its  expression.  Utterance  must  be  what  the 
mind  is  which  thinks  it. 

May  it  not  have  been  one  cause  of  the  beauty  of  the 
Greek  language  and  literature,  that  they  grew  up  among  a 
people  who  were  passionately  fond  of  the  drama  ?  "  They 
left,"  says  one  critic,  "for  the  world's  admiration,  theatres, 
while  the  Romans  left  amphitheatres."  The  love  of  the 
drama  permeated  the  very  structure  of  the  Greek  tongue, 
as  did  the  Greek  taste. 

2.  The  elegance  of  a  discourse  as  a  unique  structure 
is  promoted  by  variety  in  the  method  of  discussion,  by  va- 
riety  of  divisions  in  form  and  substance,  by  variety  in  re- 
capitulations of  argument,  by  variety  in  applications.  Any 
prolonged  discourse  requires  variation  in  the   keynote   of 


1 86        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AMD  PRACTICE 

the  thought.  Argument  unmixed  with  illustration,  poetic 
aspects  of  truth  in  unbroken  succession,  declamation  un- 
Frequent  mingled  with  didactic  remark,  are  too  weari- 

change  of  means     some  t0  please  the  sense  of  beauty.     Thought 

in  presenting  a  I  jo 

subject.  in  the  most  brilliant  pictures,  unrelieved  by 

passages  of  repose,  satiates  the  sense  of  beauty.  A  traveller 
in  Europe  soon  grows  weary,  and  therefore  undiscerning,  in 
exploring  rapidly  a  choice  gallery  of  art.  Its  profusion  of 
beauty  becomes  monotonous,  and  therefore  antagonistic  to 
its  own  meaning.  Mind  sympathizes  with  the  weariness  of 
the  eye.  Similar  is  the  effect  of  that  style  of  discourse  of 
which  a  gallery  of  pictures  is  the  emblem. 

3.  That  variety  which  elegance  requires  demands,  also,  a 

varied  vocabulary  and  construction.      In  this  respect  the  most 

.  .         .       essential  requisite  is  a  thorough  command  of 

A  varied  vocab-  n  ° 

ulary  and  con-  the  synonyms  of  the  language,  and  the  his- 
tory of  its  literature.  Good  taste  revolts 
from  the  constant  yet  needless  recurrence  of  the  same  word 
or  the  same  collocation  of  words.  Inelegances  of  construc- 
tion are  easily  corrected  if  attention  is  given  to  them  :  they 
are  the  fruit  of  heedless  composing.  The  following  are  the 
chief  of  them  ;  viz.,  monotony  in  the  length  of  sentences,  in  the 
manner  of  beginning  and  ending  sentences,  in  the  connections  of 
the  emphatic  and  dependent  clauses  of  sentences,  in  transitions,  in 
the  use  of  affirmative,  negative,  interrogative,  and  antithetic 
structures,  in  the  use  of  personal  and  impersonal  pronouns,  in  the 
use  of  the  direct  and  the  inverted  orders  of  sentences,  in  the  use 
of  some  favorite  peculiarity  of  construction  not  easily  definable 
by  criticism. 

One  form  of  favorite  mechanism  in  construction  is  that 
in  which  a  regular  succession  occurs,  like  the  swing  of  a 
pendulum.  In  other  instances  in  which  one  feels  the  sense 
of  monotony,  but  cannot  at  once  detect  the  cause,  it  is 
found,  on  a  closer  scrutiny,  that  the  sentences  have  more 
than  two  variations,  but  they  occur  in  one  invariable  order, 


ELEGANCE   OF  STYLE  1 87 

with  the  sameness  of  a  treadmill.  Dr.  Johnson's  style  some- 
times falls  into  this  monotone  in  mechanism.  Hazlitt  criti- 
cises it,   saying  that   to   read   or  hear   such    TT    ... 

'         J      to  Hazlitt  s        criti- 

passages  from  Johnson's  writings  is  as  bad  as  cism  of  Dr.  John- 
being  at  sea  in  a  calm,  in  which  one  feels  the 
everlasting  monotony  of  the  ground-swell.  Charles  Dick- 
ens sometimes  falls  under  the  tyranny  of  his  ear  in  compos- 
ing ;  and  then  his  style  assumes  an  arbitrary  succession  of 
a  few  constructions,  in  which  thought  is  subordinated  to 
euphony  of  expression.  A  roll  and  a  swell  and  a  return,  in 
the  boom  of  the  style,  if  we  may  speak  so  incongruously,  de- 
stroy the  sense  of  everything  but  the  sound.  One  is  tempted 
to  chant  the  passage. 

4.  Furthermore  :  that  variety  which  beauty  of  style  re- 
quires involves  variety  of  illustration.  This  suggestion 
opens  a  boundless  field  of  criticism.  We  can  variety  of  nius- 
traverse  it  but  very  rapidly,  noting  only  the  tratlon- 
most  essential  principles.  Generally,  repetition  of  the  same 
illustration  in  similar  connections  should  be  avoided.  If 
the  illustration  be  a  bad  one,  or  an  indifferent  one,  it  does 
not  deserve  repetition  :  if  it  be  a  good  one,  repetition  be- 
trays the  author's  estimate  of  it  as  such,  and  has  the  look 
of  vanity.  In  either  case,  an  elegant  taste  is  offended. 
Write  rather  as  if  you  were  unconscious  of  the  quality  of 
your  style,  and  as  if  your  mind  were  rich  in  its  abundance 
of  illustrative  stores. 

Some  speakers  plod  in  commonplaces  by  confining  them- 
selves, for  illustrations,  to  the  most  common  objects  and 
phenomena  of  nature — such  as  the  sun,  the  imagery  of  dif- 
moon,  the  stars,  rivers,  mountains,  forests,  ferent  writers, 
storms,  clouds.  Others  limit  their  range  of  choice  to  prin- 
ciples in  science  ;  others,  to  the  mechanic  arts  ;  a  few,  to 
the  fine  arts  ;  a  larger  number,  to  civil  government ;  many, 
to  historical  allusions,  to  mythology,  to  literary  fiction,  to 
military  art  and  history. 


1 88        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Cultivate  a  liberal  acquaintance  with  the  mechanic  arts, 
the  natural  sciences,  history,  biography,  the  liberal  profes- 
sions, the  trades,  the  fine  arts,  mythology,  fiction,  civil  and 
social  life.  Be  at  home  wherever  you  can  lead  the  interest 
of  your  hearers  for  new  analogies. 

Again  :  for  variety's  sake,  illustrations  should  not  be  re- 
stricted to  any  one  rhetorical  form.  Do  not  commonly  re- 
sort to  the  boldest  of  figures,  nor  always  to  the  mildest. 
Illustration  should  rarely  predominate  over  declarative  or 
argumentative  discussion  ;  yet  it  should  not  be  limited  to 
pictorial  words.  Elegance  requires  diversity  in  proportion, 
as  in  rhetorical  form.  The  extent  to  which  a  prolific  and 
inventive  mind  can  execute  illustrative  variety  is  seen  in 
the  fact,  that  in  sixty-four  volumes  of  the  works  of  Paul 
Richter,  one  of  the  most  imaginative  of  German  prose- 
writers,  it  is  said  that  only  two  or  three  illustrations  are 
repeated. 

5.  The  variety  which  an  elegant  taste  requires  is  assisted 
by  variety  of  delivery.  By  this  is  meant,  not  only  that  a  ver- 
Varietyofde-  satile  delivery  is  the  natural  expression  of  a 
hvery.  versatile  style,  but  that  it  is  a  powerful  aux- 

iliary to  the  forming  of  such  a  style. 

A  very  broad  theme  is  this  of  the  reciprocal  effect  of  style 
and  elocution.  A  monotonous  elocution  insensibly  yet  in- 
_    .         ,   „.       evitablv  s;ives  character  to  the  style  of  one 

Reciprocal  effect  J    ° 

of  style  and  de-  who  speaks  much  in  public.  A  drowsy,  drawl- 
ing, nasal  delivery,  if  such  be  a  speaker's 
habit,  will  brood  over  and  suffocate  his  writing.  A  brisk, 
energetic,  versatile  delivery  is  an  inspiration  to  the  pen. 
Unconsciously,  we  form  our  sentences,  choose  our  colloca- 
tions of  words,  adjust  the  length  of  our  periods,  select  our 
rhetorical  forms,  and  even  manipulate  our  vocabulary,  as  we 
feel  intuitively  that  we  shall  utter  them  in  the  act  of  delivery. 
You  will  detect  before  long,  if  you  care  to  do  so,  this  silent 
infusion  of  the  genius  of  your  elocution  into  your  written  style. 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  1 89 

You  may  first  observe  it  in  the  proportion  of  long  to  short 
sentences  ;  but  no  feature  of  style  escapes  affinity  with  deliv- 
ery. Other  things  being  equal,  your  style  will  become  what 
your  manner  is.     Each  will  grow  into  fitness  to  the  other. 

Therefore  variety  in  delivery  will  promote  variety  in  style. 
A  flexible  voice,  various  intonation,  gesture,  and  position, 
will  aid  the  growth  of  a  varied  command  of  oral  expression. 
Home  Tooke  even  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  no  man  can 
write  a  good  style  in  prose  who  is  not  a  good  conversationalist. 
Mr.  Hazlitt  adds,  "  No  style  is  worth  a  farthing  which  will 
not  bear  comparison  with  spirited  colloquy." 

It  is  true  that  instances  occur  which  seem  to  contradict 
this  view.  Rapid  speakers  sometimes  write  for  the  press  in 
a  crawling  style.  This  is  said  to  have  been  a  seeming  con- 
true  of  Fox,  the  English  statesman.  Drawl-  tradiction. 
ing  speakers  also  sometimes  write  vivaciously.  But  such 
writers  do  not  write  much  for  the  purpose  of  oral  delivery. 
They  do  not  write  enough  to  give  their  delivery  a  chance 
to  permeate  their  style.  They  either  speak  extemporane- 
ously, and  therefore  do  not  write  well  for  the  platform  or 
they  do  not  speak  at  all,  and  therefore  do  not  write  well  for 
oral  utterance.  Elocution  and  written  style  do  not  come  in 
contact  frequently  enough  to  create  the  reciprocal  sympa- 
thy of  which  mention  has  been  made. 

An  amusing  account  is  given  by  Lord  Macaulay  of  a  criti- 
cism by  Sheridan  upon  the  style  and  manner  of  Fox  and 
Lord  Stormont  in  the  British  Parliament.  Fox  and  Lorti 
Sheridan  had  returned  one  morning  from  the  stormont. 
meeting  of  Parliament,  and  a  friend  asked  him  for  the  news 
of  the  day.  He  replied  that  he  had  enjoyed  a  laugh  over 
the  speeches  of  those  two  men.  He  said  that  Lord  Stor- 
mont began  by  declaring  in  a  slow,  solemn,  nasal  monotone, 
that  "  when — he — considered — the  enormity — and  the — un- 
constitutional—  tendency  —  of  the  measures  —  just — pro- 
posed, he  was — hurried — away  in  a — torrent — of  passion — 


190        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

and  a — whirlwind — of  im-pet-u-os-i-ty."  Fox  he  described 
as  rising  with  a  spring  to  his  feet,  and  beginning  with 
the  rapidity  of  lightning,  thus  :  "  Mr.  Speaker,  such  is  the 
magnitude  such  the  importance  such  the  vital  interest  of  the 
question  that  I  cannot  but  implore  I  cannot  but  adjure  the 
House  to  come  to  it  with  the  utmost  calmness  the  utmost 
coolness  the  utmost  deliberation." 

This  surely  does  not  look  much  like  reciprocal  sympathy 

between  manner  and  style.     But  scrutinize  it  carefully,  and 

.       you  will  find  even  in  this  rare  extreme,  that 

An  analysis  oi  J  _  ' 

the  case  of  such  a  sympathy  is  struggling  to  unite  them. 

What  is  the  fact  with  Lord  Stormont's  case  ? 
Is  it  his  drawling  manner  which  gives  him  time  to  say  in 
what  a  tempestuous  passion  he  is.  He  is  uttering  what 
he  knows  to  be  untrue  :  a  man  in  a  genuine  passion 
does  not  stop  to  tell  of  it.  Such  a  blunder  is  in  perfect 
keeping  with  the  monotonous,  crawling  elocution.  Note, 
also,  the  florid,  figurative  style  in  which  he  speaks  of  the 
torrent  and  the  whirlwind,  and  the  carefulness  with  which 
he  supplies  all  necessary  connectives.  These  are  both  ex- 
actly the  mistakes  which  one  is  likely  to  make  who  affects 
the  utterance  of  passion  which  has  no  existence.  His  style 
and  his  professed  sentiments  are  inconsistent,  but  his  style 
and  manner  are  in  conspiracy  to  betray  the  falseness  of  the 
sentiment. 

What  is  the  case  rhetorically  with  Fox  ?  Precisely  the 
same.  He  is,  in  fact,  anxious  and  impatient  :  his  style 
An  analysis  of  and  manner  combine  to  reveal  this,  though 
the  case  of  Fox.  tne  sentiment  exhorts  the  House  to  be  just 
the  reverse.  Observe  his  pithy,  literal  vocabulary.  He 
does  not  know  whether  he  is  in  a  whirlwind  or  not.  Lord 
Stormont  did  know.  Note  Fox's  compact  syntax,  indicating 
his  nervous  haste  by  the  absence  of  connectives  :  "  Such  is 
the  importance  such  the  magnitude  such  the  vital  interest," 
etc.     The  style  gallops  furiously  to  its  goal.     Lord  Stor- 


ELEGANCE    OF  STYLE  191 

mont  ambled  along,  sporting  with  torrents  and  whirlwinds 
by  the  way.  Few  examples  can  illustrate  a  more  active 
affinity  between  style  and  manner.  Both  are  more  truth- 
fully significant  than  the  sentiment  is,  of  the  real  state  of 
the  writer's  mind.  Let  us  not  contemn,  then,  the  graces 
and  forces  of  delivery  as  mere  externals.  Some  of  the  sub- 
tle influences  which  give  character  to  discourse  have  their 
origin  there. 

ANALYSIS. 

ELEGANCE  OF   STYLE   (CONCLUDED). 

I.  Vividness  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

1.  Vividness  Essential  to  Beauty. 

2.  Vividness  Compatible  with  Delicacy. 

II.  The  Demands  of  Vividness. 

1.  Distinctness  of  Thought. 

2.  Sensitiveness  of  Feeling. 

3.  Simplicity  of  Language. 

4.  An  Easy  Command  of  Imagery. 

III.  Variety  an  Element  of  Elegance  of  Style. 

1.  In  general,  Variety  Essential  to  Beauty. 

2.  In  particular,  Variety  Essential  to  Beauty  of  Style. 

IV.  Means  of  Acquiring  Variety. 

1.  By  Versatility  of  Thought. 

2.  By  Frequent  Change  of  Means  in  Presenting  a  Subject. 

3.  By  a  Varied  Vocabulary  and  Construction. 

4.  By  Varied  Illustrations. 

(a)  1  st  Rule.  Have  no  Favorite  Illustrations. 

(b)  2d  Rule.  Have  no  Favorite  Rhetorical  Form  of  Illus- 
tration. 

5.  By  Variety  of  Delivery. 

A.  Reciprocal  Influence  of  Style  and  Delivery. 

B.  Seeming  Contradiction  of  this  Reciprocal  Influence. 

(a)  Fox  and  Lord  Stormont,  as  Speakers  in  the  House   of 
Parliament. 

(b)  The  Characteristics  of  these  Speakers  Analyzed. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

NATURALNESS   OF   STYLE 

I Relation    of    Naturalness  to    all   Other    Qual- 
ities of  Style. 

The  philosophical  idea  of  the  "  fitness  of  things  "  is,  in 
some  relations  of  it,  an  ultimate  idea.  We  cannot  carry 
Fitness  of  things  analysis  beyond  it.  For  some  of  our  con- 
an  ultimate  idea,  victions  we  can  give  no  reason  other  than 
this — that  a  thing  is,  or  is  not,  becoming.  It  does,  or  does 
not,  fit  into  the  nature  and  demands  of  other  things.  Style 
has  a  quality  which  expresses  this  relation  of  thought  as 
clothed  in  language.  It  suggests  the  interlocking  of  cog- 
wheels in  machinery. 

More    specifically,    naturalness    is    that  quality   by   which 

style   expresses   the   fitness   of  language   to   thought,    of    both 

thought   and  language  to   the  speaker,  and  of 

Naturalness  and  6  ,  ,  ,       , 

other  qualities  of   thought,   language,   and  speaker  to  the   nearer. 

sty  In  any  complete  example  of   it,   it    is    thus 

complicated.  It  extends  to  all  the  fundamental  elements 
out  of  which  style  grows.  It  stands  related  to  them  as 
proportion  does  to  architecture.  We  respond  to  it,  not  by 
saying,  "  That  is  forcible,  this  is  beautiful,  the  other  is 
clear  ; "  but  we  say,  "  It  is  becoming,  it  fits,  the  cogs  inter- 
lock :  therefore  the  movement  is  without  jar  or  needless 
friction."  Such  a  quality  must  obviously  depend  for  its 
recognition  entirely  upon  the  intuitions  of  good  taste. 
Primarily  we  do  not  reason  about  it :  we  feel  it  or  we  feel 
the  absence  of  it.     Being,  as  it  is,  the  resultant  of  qualities 


NATURALNESS   OF  STYLE  1 93 

of  style  already  discussed,  the  discussion  of  it  as   distinct 
from  those  must  necessarily  involve  some  repetition. 


II. — Characteristics  of  Naturalness. 

In  what  forms  chiefly  does  naturalness  of  style  become 
perceptible  to  good  taste  ? 

1.  In  answer,  be  it  first   observed,  that  good  taste  ap- 
proves naturalness  of  style  in  a  certain  fitness  of  expression 

to  the  subject  of  discourse.     Style  has  a  certain 

i-ii  r  it  ,  Fitness     of    ex- 

temper,  like  that  of  steel.  It  pervades  every  pression  to  sub- 
particle.  This  may  or  may  not  be  becoming;  ject  of  discourse- 
and  the  question  whether  it  is  so,  or  not,  depends  often  on 
the  simple  relations  of  style  to  subject.  Why  is  not  a  vola- 
tile style  suited  to  a  discourse  on  immortality  ?  Why  is 
a  ponderous  style  unsuited  to  a  comic  song  ?  To  ask  these 
questions  is  to  answer  them.  The  jests  of  the  French  revo- 
lutionists under  the   knife  of   the    guillotine 

.        .  ii-  '  Subjects  which 

shock  us,  and  the  seriousness  of  a  parody  suggest  their 
pleases  us,  for  the  same  reason— the  unfitness  treatment- 
of  things  to  things.  "  The  Marriage-Ring,"  the  title  of  one 
of  Jeremy  Taylor's  sermons,  suggests  immediately  the  ele- 
gance of  style  which  ought  to  characterize  its  treatment. 
The  forty-seventh  proposition  of  Euclid  suggests  the  neces- 
sary absence  of  the  qualities  of  style  which  "The  Marriage- 
Ring  "  demands.  Do  not  the  opposite  subjects  "  Heaven  " 
and  "Hell  "  compel  us,  by  stress  of  subject  only,  to  asso- 
ciate with  them  certain  opposites  in  the  style  of  their  dis- 
cussion? Ruskin  contends  for  the  same  distinction  as 
fundamental  to  good  painting.  He  says,  "  Greatness  of 
style  consists  first  in  the  habitual  choice  of  subjects  which 
involve  profound  passions.  The  habitual  choice  of  sacred 
subjects  constitutes  a  painter,  so  far  forth,  one  of  the  high- 
estorder." 

2.  Naturalness  of  style  becomes  perceptible  to  good  taste 

13 


194        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

also,  in  a  certain  fitness  of  thought  and  expression  to  the  relations 

of  hearers  to  the  subject.     A  painting  attributed  to  Michael 

Angelo,  in  one  of  the  galleries  of  Italy,  rep- 

I-  ltness  of  o        7  <=>  j  ■>       r 

thought  and  ex-  resents  the  Virgin  Mary  standing  erect  and 
refadons  of  hear-  calm  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  without  a  tear 
ers  to  the  subject.  or  0ther  trace  of  sorrow  on  her  countenance. 
Artists  defend  the  painting  by  the  theory  that  the  mother 
of  our  Lord  was  supposed  to  be  divinely  instructed  in  the 
meaning  of  the  crucifixion  and  the  mystery  of  atonement, 
and  that  inspired  exaltation  overpowered  her  maternal 
sorrow.  But  critics  say,  in  reply,  that  this  theory  of  the 
Michael  Anglo's  Painter  was  true  only  to  him.  The  painting 
Virgin  Mary.  ,joes  not  explain  it  to  the  perplexed  specta- 
tor. Spectators  cannot  be  supposed  to  originate  it.  They 
must  look  at  the  artist's  work  from  their  position,  not  from 
his.  A  Protestant  observer  especially,  who  sees  in  the  Vir- 
gin mother  only  a  woman,  not  superior,  perhaps  not  equal, 
to  some  others  of  her  sex,  cannot  be  supposed  to  divine  the 
secret  of  the  painter's  theology. 

This  may  serve  to  illustrate  one  of  the  limitations  which 
good  taste  imposes  upon  the  style  of  discourse — that  it 
should  be  adjusted  to  the  relations  of  the  audience  to  the 
subject  in  hand.  It  must  express  truth  to  their  range  and 
quality  of  conception  :  otherwise,  it  is  an  unnatural  style, 
as  much  so  as  if  it  expressed  a  falsehood.  Indeed,  unnat- 
uralness  in  this  form  may  amount  to  falseness  of  impres- 
sion. Refraction  of  truth  may  be  equivalent  to  untruth. 
When  no  untruth  is  uttered,  the  impression  of  truth  may  be 
a  failure,  through  the  speaker's  failure  to  appreciate  the 
prepossessions,  or  prejudices,  or  ignorance  of  his  hearers. 

3.  Further  :  naturalness  of  style  becomes  perceptible  to 
good  taste  in  a  certain  fitness  of  discourse  to  the  relations  of  the 
speaker  to  his  subject.  The  principle  here  in  view  may  be 
best  illustrated  by  a  few  examples  of  its  violation.  It  is 
violated,  for  instance,  by  the  dogmatic  style.     Not  often  by 


NATURALNESS   OF  STYLE  195 

a  glaring  conscious  usurpation  of  authority,  but  by  an  in- 
definite undertone  of  discourse,  a  speaker  may  give  to  it 
a  magisterial  sound.     He  dictates  when  he     ~  f  dj 

ought  only  to  instruct.     He  assumes  what  he     course    to   the 

,  _.,.,.  relations  of  the 

ought  to  prove.  Sometimes  the  evil  consists  speaker  to  his 
not  so  much  in  what  is  said  as  in  how  it  is  subJect- 
said.  A  certain  gait  in  the  style  betrays  a  swagger  or  a 
lordliness  of  stride  which  awakens  resistance.  Franklin, 
in  criticising  one  of  the  appeals  of  the  American  Colonies 
to  the  king  for  a  redress  of  grievances,  advised  a  more 
manly  style.  Said  he,  "  Firmness  carries  weight  :  a  strut 
never  does."  When  we  detect  the  "  strut  "  in  discourse,  we 
are  instinctively  aroused  to  cavil  and  to  criticise. 

III. — Characteristics  of  Unnaturalness. 

i.  Over  against  the  form  of  unnaturalness  just  observed, 
is  another,  which  may  be  termed  the  apologetic  style.  The 
tone  of  discourse  in  this  case  is  apologetic,  The  apologetic 
not  for  the  subject,  but  for  the  speaker.  style- 
By  explicit  or  implied  confessions  of  incompetence,  by  dep- 
recations of  criticism,  by  the  want  of  positive  opinions, 
by  the  intimation  of  doubts,  by  a  style  which  marks  the 
want  of  mastery,  a  speaker  may  betray  a  want  of  confidence 
in  his  own  ability,  and  therefore  in  his  own  right,  to  speak 
on  the  subject  in  hand.  In  the  public  speech,  ability  and 
authority  are  proportioned  to  each  other.  Might  makes 
right.  If,  therefore,  standing  in  the  place  of  an  instructor, 
the  speaker  shrinks  from  the  prerogatives  and  responsibili- 
ties of  an  instructor,  his  style  will  disclose  this.  He  will 
not  rise  to  the  level  of  his  theme,  and  handle  it  as  one  who 
knows.  A  downcast  air  is  given  to  his  discussion  which 
tempts  a  cold-blooded  hearer  to  ask  him  by  what  authority 
he  assumes  to  speak  at  all.  Style  is  susceptible  of  a  quality 
corresponding  to  the  blush  of  a  diffident  man. 


196        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

It  deserves  note,  that  audiences  are  not  flattered  by  this 
apologetic  treatment.  They  may  give  to  it  their  pity,  but 
„,,        ..  not  their  respect.     They  bear  with  less  im- 

The  audience  .  ... 

and  the  apolo-  patience  the  dogmatic  diction.  Men  love  to 
be  addressed  confidently,  respectfully  indeed* 
but  fearlessly.  We  would  rather  be  browbeaten  than  to 
be  fawned  upon.  We  feel  more  respect  for  impudence  than 
we  do  for  imbecility.  We  respect  a  pugilist  more  than  a 
coward. 

2.  One  other  form  of  this  kind  of  unnatural  discourse 
may  be  termed  the  apathetic  style.  The  best  description 
The  apathetic  which  can  be  given  of  some  speakers  is  that 
style-  they  are  apathetic  as  opposed  to  sympathetic. 

They  manifest  no  sense  of  personal  subjection  to  the  truths 
the  declare.  They  seem  to  feel  no  sense  of  the  power  of 
truth,  and  therefore  no  sympathy  with  hearers  of  quickened 
sensibilities.  They  speak  it  as  a  being  from  a  superior 
world  might  speak. 

The  verdict  of  an  audience  upon  such  discourse  is  the 
most  severe  retribution  that  can  fall  on  the  head  of  a  living 
man.  They  say  to  the  speaker,  "  You  have  no  heart. 
Your  very  fidelity  in  speech  is  grounded  on  your  want  of 
sympathy  with  us  in  feeling." 

In  opposition  to  all  these  forms  of  discourse  a  natural 
style  requires  a  just,  temperate,  manly  appreciation,  on  the 
speaker's  part,  of  his  own  personal  relations  to  the  truth 
he  utters.  If  he  has  this  in  living  force,  it  will  make  itself 
felt  in  his  discourse.  He  will  not  express  it  by  conscious 
effort  and  in  chosen  words  :  it  will  express  itself.  His  style 
will  breathe  it  forth,  like  the  exhalation  of  a  spice-plant. 

IV. — Adaptation  of  Naturalness  to  Oral  Discourse. 

Naturalness  of  style,  again,  becomes  perceptible  to  good 
taste  in  a  certain  fitness  of  expression  to  oral  discourse.     The 


NATURALNESS   OF  STYLE  1 97 

oral  style  of  continuous  discourse  is  distinct  from  that 
of  the  press  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  that  of  conver- 
sation on  the  other.  Precisely  what  it  is  which  con- 
stitutes the  peculiarity  of  the  oral  style,  criticism  can- 
not easily  define.  But  in  any  striking  example  of  it  we 
detect  several  features. 

i.  One  is  tJie  predominance  of  concrete  over  abstract 
words  in  its  vocabulary.  Oral  discourse  is  essentially  pic- 
torial   in    its  nature.     It  abounds  in   words    _    ,     . 

Predominance  of 

which  are  images,  in  words  which  are  things,  concrete  expres- 
It  is  opposed  to  that  style  which  throws  the 
whole  burden  of  speech  upon  the  literal  truthfulness  of  ab- 
stract phraseology.  It  denies  the  necessity  of  this  in  the 
discussion  of  any  subjects  which  are  proper  themes  of  oral 
discourse.  It  is  specially  hostile  to  that  predilection  for  ab- 
stract phrase  which  leads  a  speaker,  and  more  frequently  a 
writer,  to  fear  obvious  expression. 

An  eminent  German  philosopher  is  said  to  have  rewritten 
some  pages  of  his  manuscript  in  the  revision  of  it  for  the 
press,  because,  upon  reading  them  to  a  com-     .  _ 

v  '  '      v  &  ...  Affectation  of  the 

pany  of  friends,  he  found  them  intelligible  German  phiioso- 
at  a  single  hearing.  He  recast  those  pages 
into  a  more  recondite  diction,  on  the  ground,  that,  if  his 
meaning  were  so  obvious  as  to  be  understood  by  a  hearer, 
the  class  of  readers  whom  he  aimed  to  reach  would  not 
deem  his  work  worthy  of  their  notice.  Does  not  this  de- 
serve to  be  ranked  with  those  affectations  which  have  been 
elsewhere  denominated  the  cant  of  literature  ?  The  style 
of  nature  in  oral  speech  is  very  simple  in  its  aims.  It  re- 
pudiates all  forms  of  affectation.  It  betrays  no  fear  of  being 
understood.  It  shows  no  reluctance  to  being  childlike  in 
its  love  for  pictures.  The  more  that  a  style  spoken  to  the 
ear  can  have  of  the  resources  which  make  thought  visible 
to  the  eye,  the  more  potently  does  it  achieve  the  objects  of 
oral  utterance. 


198        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

2.  Again  :  the  oral  style  inclines  to  a  large  excess  of 
simplicity  ore?-  involution  in  the  construction  of  sentences. 
„ We  are  all  sensible  of  the  difference,  in  this 

Simplicity  in 

construction  of  respect,  between  the  style  of  the  press  and 
the  style  of  speech,  when  we  compare  our 
own  styles  constructed  by  the  two  methods.  The  very 
same  materials,  in  the  two  methods  of  expression,  we 
throw  into  totally  different  constructions.  We  extemporize 
in  shorter  sentences  than  we  use  in  printed  discourse,  in 
more  simply  framed  sentences,  with  less  of  inversion  and 
introversion,  and  suspension  of  the  sense.  The  difference 
is  so  great,  that  it  affects  the  organs  of  speech.  These  are 
commonly  less  wearied  by  extemporaneous  speech  than  by 
the  delivery  of  a  written  address.  Physicians  well  under- 
stand this.  For  the  relief  of  bronchitis  they  often  advise 
preachers  to  abandon  their  manuscripts  in  the  pulpit. 

3.  One  other  feature  in  the  style  natural  to  oral  discourse 
is  the  dramatic  quality,  which  makes  the  hearer  active  in 
rr,,     ,         .  the   discussion    of  a    subject.      This    partakes 

The  dramatic  J  J  r 

quality  of  oral  of  the  nature  of  colloquy  in  effect,  though 
not  colloquy  in  form.  You  have  doubtless 
witnessed,  perhaps  experienced,  the  power  of  this  feature 
of  style  upon  an  audience.  Did  you  never  feel  in  listening 
to  a  speech  as  if  the  speaker  were  questioning  you,  and  you 
were  involuntarily  responding  ?  Did  you  never  seem  to  be 
yourself  the  questioner,  and  he  the  respondent  ?  Did  you 
never  carry  on  a  silent  dispute  with  a  speaker  through  a 
whole  discourse  which  commanded  in  you  the  interest  of 
dissent. 

These  effects  of  powerful  discourse  in  genuine  oral  style 
may  be  often  witnessed,  and  sometimes  evinced  by  visible 
Whitefieid  and  signs.  The  sailor,  who  in  listening  to  White- 
the  sailor.  field's  description  of  a  wreck  forgot  himself, 

and  in  response  to  the  preacher's  impassioned  cry,  "  What 
more  can  he  do  ?"  answered,  "  For  God's  sake  take  to  the 


NATURALNESS   OF  STYLE  1 99 

life-boat !  "  illustrated  that  which  we  have  probably  all  of 
us  felt,  in  less  degree,  when  speakers  have  made  us  parties 
in  their  discussion,  and  thrown  upon  us  the  responsibility 
of  its  application.  The  illusions  of  the  stage  never  gave  to 
Garrick  and  Kean  such  advantage  for  moving  an  audience 
to  the  responsive  mood  as  some  speakers  have  found  in 
their  mastery  of  a  dramatic  diction.  In  this  variety  of 
their  success,  we  pronounce  such  speakers  natural  orators. 
It  is  only,  that,  in  obeying  the  natural  intuitions  of  an 
orator,  they  practise  as  well  the  canons  of  criticism  and 
the  laws  of  good  taste  in  adjusting  style  to  the  object  of 
oral  speech. 

V. — Means  of  Acquiring  Naturalness  of  Style. 

The  views  we  have  considered  respecting  the  cognizance 
of  naturalness  of  style  by  good  taste  suggest  further  the 
inquiry,  By  what  means  may  a  natural  style  be  most  effect- 
ually acquired  ?  These  may,  for  the  most  part,  be  named 
with  brief  remark,  because  they  are  not  recondite,  and  they 
are  found  chiefly  in  certain  things  which  lie  back  of  the 
study  of  style  as  such.  They  are  not  greatly  involved  in 
the  minutioz  of  criticism. 

1.  You  will  anticipate  me  in  mentioning  as  the  first  of 
these  means  of  gaining  naturalness  of  style  the  habit  of  mas- 
tering subjects  of  discourse.  Let  the  word  The  habit  of 
"habit"  be   emphasized    in   this    statement.      mastering  sub- 

r  jects     01      dis- 

Style  depends  more  upon  the  permanent  state  course. 
of  a  writer's  mind  than  upon  any  expedients  of  discipline, 
or  moods  of  composition.  It  has  always  its  foundation  in  a 
speaker's  character.  What  the  man  is,  his  style  will  be. 
Naturalness  especially  is  a  fruit  and  a  sign  of  a  certain  state 
of  mental  discipline  and  a  certain  habit  of  mental  action, 
which  will  not  permit  a  man  to  write  or  speak  upon  a  sub- 
ject which  is  not  well  mastered.     We  do  not  walk  naturally 


200        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

in  utter  darkness.  Neither  do  we  speak  naturally  of  that 
of  which  the  chief  thing  we  are  thoroughly  conscious  of 
is  our  ignorance,  or  our  bungling  knowledge.  Mastery  is 
needed  to  create  ease  of  movement.  Style  must  have  the 
movement  of  conquest,  not  of  struggle.  Says  Ruskin, 
"  Without  absolute  grasp  of  the  whole  subject,  there  is  no 
good  painting."     Partial  conception  is  no  conception. 

2.  Another  tributary  to  this  quality  of  style  is  se/f-forget- 
f  ulness  in  the  act  of  composing.    Unnaturalness  in  almost  any 

form  of  it  may  spring  from  a  want  of  com- 
ness  in  the  act       posure.     A  speaker    may   be    master   of   his 

theme,  yet  not  master  of  himself,  and  there- 
fore not  at  ease  about  himself.  In  such  a  mood  he  speaks 
nervously.  A  constant  strain  is  manifest  in  his  style. 
He  speaks  as  if  he  were  constantly  thinking  of  his  style. 
Its  movement  is  like  that  of  one  walking  on  tiptoe.  The 
remedy  is  the  habit  of  self-forgetfulness  in  composing, 
whether  with  pen  or  tongue.  That  state  and  habit  of  mind 
which  led  Isocrates  to  spend  fifteen  years  in  adjusting  the 
sentences  of  his  Panegyric  could  not  fail  to  drill  all  nature 
out  of  it.  One  might  as  well  hope  to  acquire  natural  vision 
by  twisting  and  straining  for  fifteen  years  to  get  a  sight 
of  one's  own  eyeballs. 

3.  A  natural  style  is  assisted  by  an  absorbing  interest  in 
the  aim  of  a  discourse.  Note  briefly  a  distinction  between 
An  absorbing        interest  in  the  details  of  a  discourse  and  in- 

interest  in  the  •.  •  a  1  r  <• 

aim  of  a  dis-  terest  in  its  aim.  An  example  of  one  of 
course-  these  will  best  illustrate  both.       In  a  speech 

delivered  in  the  American  Congress  by  the  elder  Josiah 
Quincy,  on  the  repeal  of  the  embargo  laid  upon  our  com- 
merce with  Great  Britain  before  the  war  of  1812,  we  find 
the  following  passage,  viz.: 

"  An  embargo  liberty  was  never  cradled  in  Massachusetts. 
Our  liberty  was  not  so  much  a  mountain-  as  a  sea-nymph. 
She  was  free  as  air.     She  could   swim,  or  she  could  run. 


NATURALNESS   OF  STYLE  201 

The  ocean  was  her  cradle.  Our  fathers  met  her  as  she 
came  like  a  goddess  of  beauty  from  the  waves.  They  caught 
her  as  she  was  sporting  on  the  beach.  They  courted  her  as 
she  was  spreading  her  nets  upon  the  rocks."  In  this  strain 
the  orator  proceeds.  Mark  now  the  quality  of  this  style  as 
related  to  the  professed  aim  of  the  whole  speech.  What 
was  that  aim  ?  The  ships  of  the  merchants  of  Boston  and 
Salem  and  Newburyport  and  New  London  and  New  York 
were  rotting  in  their  harbors.  The  aim  of  the  legislation 
advocated  by  Mr.  Quincy  was  to  remove  the  embargo,  and 
send  those  ships  to  sea.  Was  his  mind  intent  on  that  in 
the  passage  here  quoted  ?  Did  this  passage  assist  that  aim, 
or  could  it  naturally  do  so?  Not  at  all.  The  paragraph  is 
vivacious  ;  its  metaphors  are  novel  ;  its  diction  is  compact 
and  clear  ;  it  is  a  specimen  of  what  passed  in  those  days 
for  fine  oratory.  But  it  was  quite  too  fine  for  the  sober 
and  rather  rough  work  which  the  orator  had  before  him. 
His  interest  just  then,  all  the  enthusiasm  of  his  mind  in  the 
business,  was  expended  on  the  embellishment  of  his  style. 
He  was  thinking  of  the  beauty  of  it  as  a  work  of  art.  He 
was  speaking  to  Harvard  College  and  its  environs,  not  to 
the  Southern  Congressmen  whom  it  was  his  business  to  win 
over  to  the  commercial  interests  of  New  England.  If  his 
own  fortune  had  been  embarked  in  one  of  those  rotting 
ships,  and  he  was  intent  with  his  whole  soul  on  saving  it  by 
a  vote  of  the  Congress,  he  would  have  found  something  to 
say  more  to  the  purpose  than  courting  a  sea-nymph  on  the 
rocks. 

This  illustrates  the  importance  to  natural  discourse  of  an 
absorbing  interest  in  the  aim  of  it  as  distinct  from  the  de- 
velopment and  embellishment  of  its  details.  Keep  always 
the  practical  object  of  the  discourse  in  sight;  keep  it  close  a f 
hand ;  let  the  shadow  of  it  cover  the  whole  structure  from 
beginning  to  end.  This  unity  of  aim  is  itself  nature.  It 
will  often  s;ive  to  an  author  the  most  essential   element  of 


202        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

power,  when  many  other  elements  are  wanting.  Again  we 
involuntarily  disclose  the  secret  of  its  power  when  we  call 
it  natural  eloquence. 

4.  One  additional  means  of  acquiring  a  natural  style 
remains  to  be  noticed  :  it  is  practice  in  composition.  Did  you 
Practice  in  com-  ever  observe  that  a  young  man's  chirogra- 
position.  phy^  originally  stiff,  awkward,  angular,  bear- 

ing every  mark  of  juvenility,  becomes  often,  in  the  process 
of  time,  flowing  and  business-like,  through  mere  practice  in 
rapid  writing?  Though  it  may  not  gain  the  kind  of  finish 
which  belongs  to  the  engraving  of  the  copy-book,  yet  you 
pronounce  it  superior  to  that,  because  it  is  a  natural  hand. 
It  expresses  somewhat  of  the  individuality  of  the  writer. 

Similar  to  this  is  the  indefinable  elegance  which  style  may 
receive  from  large  practice  in  composing.  In  the  history  of 
the  fine  arts,  the  most  illustrious  painters  are  those  who  have 
painted  most  abundantly.  Ruskin  says,  "  Of  two  touches 
as  nearly  as  possible  alike  in  other  respects,  the  quickest 
will  invariably  be  the  best."  Of  perfect  execution,  velocity 
is  an  invariable  quality.  This  is,  in  part,  the  explanation 
of  the  fact  that  large  practice  in  composing  tends  to  create 
a  perfect  style  :  it  is  because  much  composing  necessarily 
involves  rapid  composing.  It  does  not  follow  that  the 
most  voluminous  writers  will  necessarily  be  the  most  per- 
fect writers.  But  it  does  follow  that  practice  in  this,  as  in 
other  arts,  will  re-act  upon  natural  genius,  and  develop  it 
in  natural  work. 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  most  prolific  writer  will 
be  the  most  natural  writer.  The  man  who  writes  the  larg- 
er,        ,.r  est  quantity  with  critical  care  will  write  most 

The  prolific  M  J 

writer  the  natu-     naturally.     In  many  instances  in  which  other 

ral  writer.  .    .  ,  ,  .    , 

requisites  to  a  natural  style  exist,  writers 
fail  in  this  quality  for  no  reason  other  than  that  they  have 
not  written  enough  to  write  naturally.  They  have  not  be- 
come acquainted  with  nature.     Composing  was  a  drudgery, 


NATURALNESS   OF  STYLE  203 

and  they  allowed  it  to  remain  such  by  avoiding  it  when  it 
was  not  compulsory. 

Izaak  Walton  wrote  for  the  love  of  writing.  Charles 
Lamb  wrote  all  his  works  for  recreation  in  the  intervals  of 
leisure  from  his  clerkly  toil  in  the  East  India       T     ,    „.  „ 

J  Izaak   Walton. 

House.     Probably  not  a  page  that  he  ever      Charles  Lamb. 

\\t    1*         Q        +f 

wrote  was  a  drudgery  to  him.  Walter  Scott, 
till  his  brain  gave  way,  composed  always  in  a  glee  of  enthu- 
siasm. His  daily  contributions  to  the  press  he  captured 
with  the  ardor  of  a  sportsman.  He  often  hesitated  between 
the  two  —  whether  to  sit  down  at  his  desk,  or  to  go  out 
among  the  hills  with  his  dog  and  gun  ;  for  he  enjoyed  both 
his  pen  and  his  gun  with  equal  zest.  He  gained  this  pleas- 
urable ease  in  composition  by  long  and  constant  practice. 
He  used  to  involve  himself  in  literary  engagements  pur- 
posely, that  they  might  crowd  him.  He  said  that  he 
"  never  wrote  so  well,  or  felt  so  well,  as  when  the  press  was 
thundering  at  his  heels  with  the  demand  for  more  copy." 

The  same  phenomenon  is  seen  in  the  history  of  Shake- 
speare's authorship.  Scarcely  any  other  feature  in  his  pro- 
fessional life  is  so  marvellous  as  the  amount 

Shakespeare. 

of  his  work  and  its  rapidity.  His  working 
life  was  compressed  into  about  twenty-three  years.  During 
that  time  he  gave  to  the  English  stage  an  average  of  two 
dramas  a  year.  This,  for  such  productions  as  his,  and  con- 
tinued through  a  series  of  years,  was  a  miracle  of  intellect- 
ual fertility.  From  the  age  of  thirty  years  to  that  of  fifty- 
three,  Shakespeare's  mind  must  have  lived  in  a  state  of 
habitual  production. 

This  prolific  state,  so  far  from  degrading  the  quality  of 
production,  elevates  and  enriches  it.  As  the  force  of  a  can- 
non-ball is  augmented  by  its  velocity,  so  the  mental  power 
of  composition  is  reduplicated  by  rapidity  of  creation,  if 
regulated  by  good  taste.  This  mental  condition,  in  which 
composition   becomes   a   delight,  a  necessity,  a  demand  of 


204        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

nature  upon  a  full  mind,  is  a  habit  which  you  cannot  ac- 
quire but  by  large  practice.  Thinking  will  never  give  it  to 
you.  Study  of  rhetorical  treatises  will  never  create  it. 
General  reading  will  never  do  it.  Criticism  of  the  works 
of  others  or  of  your  own  is  powerless  of  itself  to  meet  the 
necessity.  You  must  write  and  speak,  speak  and  write,  till 
pen  and  tongue  move  spontaneously  and  joyously. 

ANALYSIS. 

NATURALNESS   OF   STYLE. 

I.  Relation  of  Naturalness  to  all  Other  Qualities  of  Style. 

II.  Characteristics  of  Naturalness. 

i.  Expression  fitted  to  the  Subject  of  Discourse. 

2.  Thought  and  Expression  fitted  to  the  Relations  of  Hearers  to 

the  Subject. 

3.  Discourse  fitted  to  the  Relations  of  the  Speaker  to  his  Subject. 

III.  Characteristics  of  Unnaturalness. 

1.  An  Apologetic  Style. 

2.  An  Apathetic  Style. 

IV.  Adaptation  of  Naturalness  to  Oral  Discourse. 

1.  Predominance  of  Concrete  Expression. 

2.  Simplicity  of  Construction  of  Sentences. 

3.  The  Dramatic  Quality  in  Oral  Discourse. 

V.  Means  of  Acquiring  Naturalness  of  Style. 

1.  By  the  Habit  of  Mastering  Subjects  of  Discourse. 

2.  By  Self-forgetfulness  in  the  Act  of  Composing. 

3.  By  an  Absorbing  Interest  in  the  Aim  of  a  Discourse. 

4.  By  Practice  in  Composition. 


PART   II 
PRACTICAL   EXERCISES 


IN   THE 


FUNDAMENTAL   OUALITIES   OF 
ENGLISH    STYLE 


PRACTICAL   EXERCISES 


IN   THE 


FUNDAMENTAL   OUALITIES   OF 
ENGLISH    STYLE 


In  this  Part  of  the  text-book,  exercises,  illustrating  every 
important  suggestion  and  direction  of  the  Chapters  on 
Purity,  Precision,  Perspicuity,  and  Energy  in  the  First  Part, 
are  provided  as  a  help  to  the  practical  mastery  of  these 
qualities  of  English  style.  Some  of  the  exercises,  without 
any  assigned  preparation,'  can  be  used  in  the  class-room  for 
immediate  illustration  of  the  subject  of  the  hour.  Others 
can  be  prepared  by  the  text-book  alone.  The  larger  num- 
ber and  most  valuable  part  of  the  exercises,  however,  is 
arranged,  as  is  said  in  the  preface,  to  lead  the  student  to 
something  like  independent  study  in  his  work  in  English. 
This  supposes  a  daily  examination  of  the  dictionaries — 
Webster  and  Worcester  especially,  because  the  most  acces- 
sible to  the  larger  number  of  students — and  a  frequent  ex- 
amination of  other  books  of  reference.  In  this  way  the 
student  is  expected  to  form  his  judgments,  for  which  he  is 
to  give  good  reasons  when  tested  by  other  members  of  his 
class  and  by  his  teacher. 

It  is  hoped  that  not  only  with  the  study  of  Precision,  but 
with  each  lesson  assigned  in  the  text-book  throughout  the 
course,  the  student  will  be  required  to  prepare  at  least  a 
number  of  synonyms  by  reference  to  the  dictionaries.     The 


208        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

value  of  this  work  as  an  aid  to  Precision  and  Energy  of 
Style,  has  been  elsewhere  suggested.  But  provided  the 
class  is  not  able  to  do  much  work  outside  of  the  text-book, 
the  exercise  in  synonyms,  or  something  of  a  kindred  nature, 
should  be  required  that  the  student  may  be  helped  to  form 
the  habit  of  consulting  the  dictionaries  and  other  books 
of  recognized  authority  on  matters  of  speech. 


EXERCISES   IN    PURITY   OF  STYLE* 


CHAPTERS   II.,    III.,    IV.,    V.,    AND   VI. 

Obsolete  and  Obsolescent  Words. 

The  student  will  apply  the  test  which  James  Russell 
Lowell  gives,  page  20,  to  see  whether  or  not  the  following 
words,  marked  obsolete  or  obsolescent  in  Webster's  Interna- 
tional Dictionary,  are  permissible  archaisms  : 


Abscond,  to 

Addict,  to 

Admire,  to 

Advantage,  to 

Buckle,  to 

Collide,  to 

Commodity 

Concealment 

Conceited 

Delineature 

Disremember,  to 

Discord,  to 

Down,  to 

Divers 

Drave 

Eat  (et) 

Ecstasy 

Example,  to 

Exploit,  to 

Famoused 

Fartherance 

Farthermore 

*  For  Exercises  in   Purity  of 
other  books,  see  pages  229-247. 


(used  transitively). 
(to  make  suitable), 
(to  wonder  at), 
(to  avail  one's  self  of), 
(to  yield,  give  way), 
(used  transitively). 
(a  quantity  of  goods), 
(a  secret), 
(fanciful), 
(delineation), 
(to  forget), 
(to  disagree), 
(to  bring  down), 
(diverse). 

(imperfect  of  drive), 
(ate). 

(madness), 
(to  instance), 
(to  achieve), 
(renowned), 
(furtherance), 
(furthermore). 
Style,  without  reference  to  dictionaries  and 


2IO        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Figured 

Forbiddance 

Great-hearted 

Habited 

Imbursement 

Incidently 

Indefensive 

Inexpected 

Justiceable 

Kind 

Leany 

Lowlily 

Lug,  to 

Mid 

Misdeem,  to 

Mockish 

Musculosity 

Naught 

Neighbor,  to 

Outerly 

Overmore 

Overmost 

Prenticeship 

Profanate,  to 

Rejournment 

Requitement 

Restiff 

Southren 

Suspensely 

Thereto 

Unactive 

Unvaluable 


(figurative), 
(prohibition), 
(high-spirited), 
(accustomed), 
(act  of  imbursing). 
(incidentally), 
(defenseless), 
(unexpected). 

(belonging  to  a  court  of  jus- 
tice), 
(natural  instinct), 
(lean), 
(humbly). 
(to  move  slowly), 
(middle), 
(to  misjudge), 
(mock), 
(muscularity), 
(vile). 

(used  intransitively), 
(utterly), 
(moreover), 
(above  all  others), 
(apprenticeship), 
(to  profane), 
(adjournment), 
(requital), 
(restive). 
(Southern), 
(in  suspense), 
(besides), 
(inactive), 
(invaluable). 


Contractions  and  Abbreviations. 


Examine  the  following  list,  and  point  out  which  of  the 
words    or   phrases   are    vulgarisms,  and    which    in    certain 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE 


21  I 


forms  of  composition  and  speech  have  the  countenance  of 
reputable  writers  and  speakers. 


Daily  for 

Editorial 
Elective 

Electric  " 

Freight 
Governments 
Obituary- 
Optional 
Postal 

Day  before  yesterday    " 
Democracy 
Honorable 
Photo 
Prof. 

Reverend 

Sensation  " 

Cotemporary 
Captain,  to 
Clerk,  to 
Electrocute,  to 
Lotion,  to 
Referee,  to 
Suicide,  to 
Umpire,  to 
E'en,  e'er,  ere,  o'er,  oft,  'gan, 
doesn't,  exams,  gents,  gym,  hain't 


daily  paper. 

editorial  article. 

elective  study, 

electric  car. 

freight  car. 

government  securities. 

obituary  article. 

optional  course  of  study. 

postal  card. 

the  day  before  yesterday. 

democratic  party. 

the  Honorable. 

photograph. 

Professor. 

the  Reverend. 

a  noteworthy  event. 

(contemporary). 

(to  be  the  captain). 

(to  work  as  a  clerk). 

(to  put  to  death  by  electricity). 

(to  apply  a  lotion). 

(to  be  the  referee). 

(to  commit  suicide). 

(to  be  the  umpire), 
'neath,  ne'er,  'twixt,  ain't,  don't, 
ma'am,  pants,  wa'rn't. 


Expansion  of  Old  Words. 

Apply  to  these  examples  of  expansion  of  old  words  the 
test  which  was  applied  to  contractions  and  abbreviations. 


Agriculturalist 

Casuality 

Confiiction 


for 


agriculturist. 

casualty. 

conflict. 


212        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Clarionet 

for        clarinet. 

Deputize,  to 

to  depute. 

Dentrifrice 

dentifrice. 

Downwards 

downward. 

Effectuate,  to 

to  effect. 

Experimentalize, 

to       "          to  experiment 

Forehanded 

forehand. 

Forwards 

"          forward. 

Grieviance 

"          grievance. 

Illy 

ill. 

Issuance 

"          issue. 

Jeopardize,  to 

to  jeopard. 

Leniency 

"           lenity. 

Towards 

toward. 

Unbeknown 

"           unknown. 

Underhanded 

"          underhand. 

Upwards 

"          upward. 

Admit  of,  to 

"           to  admit. 

Ascend  up,  to 

"          to  ascend. 

Crushed  out 

"          crushed. 

End  up,  to 

to  end. 

Fall  down,  to 

to  fall. 

Open  up,  to 

to  open. 

Remember  of,  to 

"          to  remember. 

Rise  up,  to 

to  rise. 

Sink  down,  to 

"           to  sink. 

Smell  of,  to 

to  smell. 

New  Words. 

Professor  Earle  in  his  "  English  Prose  "  gives,  with  other 
words,  the  following  list,  which  has  been  issued  as  he  says 
"mostly  in  the  time  of  the  last  generation." 

Test  each  of  these  words  by  applying  the  six  principles 
given  in  Chapter  IV.  and  decide  whether  or  not  the  word  is 
to  be  accepted  as  good  English.  Answer  also  Professor 
Whitney's  three  questions  :  "  is  the  word  called  for  ?  is  it 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE 


213 


accordant  with  the  analogies  of  the  language  ?  is  it  offered 
or  backed  by  good  authority  ?  " 


Appointee 

Artistry 

Ashamedness 

Belieffulness 

Carnalization 

Criticaster 

Dampen,  to 

Dispeace 

Expertise 

Fad 

Featureliness 

Finality 

Intellectualist 

International 

Jural 

Kaleidoscopic 

Knowingness 

Lovingness 

Loveable 

Mannerist 

Millionaire 

Neolithic 

Northness 

Objective 

Open-mindedness 

Optimism 

Palmary 

Pedantocracy 

Prigdom 

Quietude 

Racial 

Rascaldom 

Rationalistic 

Realism 

Ritualist 


Walter  Bagehot. 

P.  G.  Hamerton. 

S.  Wilberforce. 

Arthur  Hugh  Clough,  1853. 

Frances  Power  Cobbe. 

James  Payn. 

Mark  Twain. 

The  London  Times,  1878. 

The  London  Times,  1 876. 

Walter  Bagehot. 
The  Guardian,  1851. 
James  Baldwin  Brown. 

Sir  H.  S.  Maine. 

The  Spectator,  1874. 

George  Eliot. 

Alexander  Ewing. 

The  London  Times,  1885. 

The  Saturday  Review,  1 874. 

The  Spectator,  1873. 

Sir  John  Lubbock. 

Dr.  I.  I.  Hayes. 

The  opposite  of  subjective. 

S.  T.  Coleridge. 
The  Daily  News,  1876. 
The  Spectator,  1874. 
F.  C.  Cook. 
Professor  Bain. 
Walter  Besant. 
The  London  Times,  1 877. 
Nineteenth  Century,  1878. 
J.  A.  Froude. 
H.  Parker,  1885. 
A.  C.  Swinburne,  1888. 
E.  B.  Pusey,  1874. 


214        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

Sacerdotalism  Earl  Russell. 

Sanitation  1S77. 

Saxon-dom  Carlyle. 

Scientist  Blackwood's  Magazine,  1 874. 

Scoundreldom  J.  A.  Froude. 

Seamy  The  London  Times,  1884. 

Seascape  Macmillan's  Magazine,  1876. 

Settledness  James  Bryce,  1877. 

Solidarity  George  P.  Marsh,  i860. 

Storiologist  The  Academy,  1886. 

Transliteration  F.  \V.  Farrar. 

Unknowable  The   Church   Quarterly  Re- 
view, 1875. 

Unyieldingness  T.  A.  Trollope. 

Uphillward  F.  W.  Farrar. 

Vaticanism  The  Hour,  187$. 

Apply  the  same  principles  to  the   following  words  which 
Webster's  International  Dictionary  marks  recent  : 

Eliminate,  to  (to    obtain  by  separating,  to 

deduce). 
Entrain,  to  (to    put     aboard,    or    to    go 

aboard). 
Exploit,  to  (to    utilize,  or  to   make    the 

means  of  illegitimate  gain). 
Humanitarian  (a  philanthropist). 

Outsider  (a  person  not  belonging  to  the 

party  mentioned). 

By  reference  to  standard  dictionaries  see  whether  or  not 
the  critics  are  right  who  call  these  words  recent : 

Acquests,  Immigrant. 

E  volute,  Proclivity. 

Productivity. 

Americanisms. 

The  following  words,  which  Webster's  International  Dic- 
tionary gives  as  Americanisms,  are  to  be  examined  that  it 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OE  STYLE 


215 


may  be  seen  whether  they  are  of  American  or  of  English 
birth,  and,  if  of  American  birth,  whether  or  not  they  are  a 
provincial  necessity,  and,  therefore,  good  English  words. 

Some  of  these  words  the  student  will  do  well  to  examine 
by  reference  not  only  to  other  standard  dictionaries,  but 
also  to  De  Vere's  "Americanisms,"  Bartlett's  "  Dictionary  of 
Americanisms,"  and  the  Glossary  of  James  Russell  Lowell's 
"  Biglow  Papers." 


Appreciate 

(to  raise  in  value). 

Arctic 

(a  warm  overshoe). 

Barge 

(a  large  omnibus). 

Blatherskite 

(a  blusterer). 

Boggle,  to 

(to  make  a  botch  of). 

Book-store 

(a  bookseller's  shop,  Eng.). 

Bunk 

(a  wooden  bed). 

Bureau 

(a     chest     of     drawers     for 

clothes). 

Caption 

(a  heading). 

Carry 

(a  portage). 

Cinch 

(a  strong  saddle-girth). 

Claim,  a  or  the 

(the  thing  claimed). 

Clerk 

(an  assistant    in   a  shop    or 

store). 

Coast,  to 

(to  slide  down  hill). 

Comforter 

(a  woollen  tippet). 

Conduct,  to 

(to  behave). 

Conductor 

(a  person  having  charge  of  a 

public  conveyance). 

Cook-book 

(a  cookery  book). 

Corn-dodger 

(a  cake  made  of  the  meal  of 

Indian  corn  and  baked  un- 

der the  embers). 

Dicker,  to 

(to  barter). 

Dime 

(the  tenth  of  a  dollar). 

Domestics 

(cotton  goods  of  home  manu- 

facture). 

Dump,  to 

(to  unload  by  tilting  the  cart). 

Eagle 

(a  gold  coin). 

2l6         RHETOR IC,    ITS   THEORY  AKD   PRACTICE 


Emptyings 

Firkin 

Forehanded 

Gums 

Help 

Hoosier 

Inaugural 
Inflationist 

Jayhawker 
Kuklux 


Lobby,  to 

Lobbyist 
Local 

Location 

Logy 

Northerner 

Praise  meeting 
Raider 

Renewedly 
Rily 
Rooster 
Scrimp 
Settle,  to 

Set-back 
Sidewalk 
Slip 
Southerner 

Veteranize 


(yeast). 

(a  small  wooden  vessel). 

(in  easy  circumstances). 

(overshoes). 

(a  domestic  servant). 

(a  nickname  of  an  inhabitant 

of  Indiana), 
(an  address). 

(a  person  who  favors  a  very 
large  issue  of  paper  money), 
(a  guerilla). 

(a   secret   political    organiza- 
tion in  the  South  after  the 
civil  war), 
(to  influence  the  votes  of  mem- 
bers of  a  legislative  body). 
(a  member  of  the  lobby). 
(a  train  accommodating  a  cer- 
tain district), 
(that  which  is  located), 
(heavy  in  motion  or  thought), 
(an  inhabitant  of  the  North- 
ern States). 
(a  religious  service  of  song). 
(a  person  who  engages  in  a 

raid). 
(once  more), 
(roily), 
(a  cock). 
(a  miser), 
(to   establish   in  the  pastoral 

office). 
(a  counter  current), 
(a  foot  pavement), 
(a  pew  in  a  church). 
(an  inhabitant  of  the  South- 
ern States). 
(to  re-enlist  for  service  as  a 
soldier). 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE 


217 


American  and  English  Usage  of  Words. 

The  following  words  which  American  usage  largely  sub- 
stitutes for  words  in  use  in  England,  the  student  is  to  ex- 
amine for  approval  or  criticism  by  reference  to  the  diction- 
aries, and  to  Richard  Grant  White's  "  Words  and  their 
Uses,"  and  De  Vere's  "Americanisms." 


Baggage 

for 

luggage. 

Bring 

a 

fetch. 

Backward 

forward 

and 

tt 

and 

Forward 

forth. 

Crackers 

a 

biscuit. 

Elevator 

tt 

lift. 

Fleshy 

tt 

stout. 

Loan,  to 

a 

to  lend. 

Mail,  to 

tt 

to  post. 

Pitcher 

a 

jug- 

Preserves 

tt 

sweets. 

Railroad 

it 

railway. 

Raise,  to 

tt 

to  grow. 

(corn,  wheat,  etc.) 

Sick 

a 

ill. 

Stage 

tt 

coach. 

Store 

it 

shop. 

Street  railroad 

tt 

tramway. 

Stylish 

a 

smart. 

Words  Condemned  by  Verbal  Critics. 

These  words  deserve  especial  attention.  As  many  of 
them  are  used  by  reputable  writers  and  speakers,  the  stu- 
dent will  learn  by  the  careful  consideration  of  these  words 
something  more  important  than  which  of  them  offends 
purity  of  style.  He  will  come  to  know  as  in  no  other  way, 
at  this  period  in  his  rhetorical  training,  the  relative  force  of 


2l8  RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


usage  and  of  the  laws  of  the  language.  In  the  examina- 
tion of  these  words  he  should,  therefore,  consult,  besides 
the  dictionary,  such  works  as  Gould's  "  Good  English,"  Al- 
ford's  "  The  Queen's  English,"  Moon's  "  The  Dean's  Eng- 
lish," Hodgson's  "Errors  in  the  use  of  English,"  Earle's 
"English  Prose,"  and  especially  White's  "Words  and  their 
Uses,"  "  Everyday  English,"  and  Fitzedward  Hall's  "  Mod- 
ern English." 

It  will  be  a  profitable  exercise  to  make  the  propriety  of 
the  use  of  some  of  these  words  or  forms — as  reliable,  stand- 
point, is  being  done,  etc. — the  subject  of  a  written  discussion, 
in  which  members  of  the  class  shall,  according  to  choice, 
present  the  affirmative  and  the  negative  side  of  the  question. 


Above 

Advocate 

Allow,  to 

Alternatives 

Antiquarian 

Anyhow 

Assemblyman 

Authoress 

Certain,  certainly 

Champion 

Commence 

Complete,  completely 

Congressman 

Defalcate,  to 

Divine 

Dress 

Execute,  to 

Experience 

Extempore 

First-rate 

Folks 

Graduates 

Gratuitous 


(as  an  adverb). 

(as  a  verb). 

(to  accede  to  an  opinion). 

(referring  to  more  than  one). 

(for  antiquary). 

(for  in  any  manner). 

(for  member  of  assembly). 

(for  author). 

(with  more  or  most). 

(as  a  verb). 

(for  begin). 

(with  more  or  most). 

(for  member  of  Congress). 

(to  embezzle). 

(a  clergyman). 

(gown). 

(to    put  to  death    a  human 

being), 
(as  a  verb), 
(as  an  adjective), 
(of  the  highest  excellence), 
(folk). 

(is  graduated), 
(without  reason,  unfounded). 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE 


219 


Ice  cream 

Ice  water 

Infallible 

Is  being  done 

Juxtapose,  to 

Less 

Mistaken  be,  to 

Now 

Noways 

Official 

Partially 

Poetess 

Present,  to 

Progress 

Reliable 

Remit 

Restive 

Spending  time 

Standpoint 

Then 


(iced  cream). 

(iced  water). 

(inevitable). 

(is  doing). 

(for  to  place  in  juxtaposition). 

(used  for   number  instead   of 

fewer), 
(to  mistake), 
(used  as  an  adjective), 
(nowise), 
(officer), 
(partly), 
(for  poet), 
(to  introduce), 
(as  a  verb), 
(for  trustworthy), 
(to  send  money  in  payment), 
(for  restless), 
(passing  time), 
(for  point  of  view), 
(used  as  an  adjective). 


Colloquial  Words,   Cant,   and   Slang. 

The  following  words,  marked  colloquial  in  Webster's  In- 
ternational Dictionary,  are  to  be  examined  so  that  the  stu- 
dent may  see  which  are  permissible  in  informal  oral  dis- 
course, and  which  are  always  to  be  avoided  as  vulgarisms 
as  are  the  words  marked  Cant  or  Slang. 


COLLOQUIAL    WORDS. 


Aggravate,  to 
Bosh 

Bounce,  to 
Brassy 
Breeches 
Buzz,  to 


(to  irritate). 

(empty  talk). 

(to  eject  violently). 

(impudent). 

(trousers). 

(to  talk  incessantly). 


220         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Coach,  to 

(to  train  by  special  instruction) 

Chuck,  to 

(to  pitch). 

Clip 

(a  blow  with  the  hand). 

Cotton,  to 

(to  make  friends  with). 

Cracked 

(crack-brained). 

Cute 

(sharp,  acute). 

Dangerous 

(in  a  condition  of  danger). 

Den 

(a  snug  retreat). 

Disgruntle,  to 

(to  anger). 

Doctor,  to 

(to  repair). 

Downs 

(a  state  of  depression). 

Drummer 

(a  commercial  traveller). 

Engineer 

(to  manage). 

Feminine 

(a  woman). 

Fib,  to 

(to  speak  falsely). 

Fight 

(pugnacity). 

Figure,  to 

(to  scheme). 

Fishy 

(improbable). 

Fizzle 

(a  failure). 

Fry 

(a  state  of  excitement). 

Gallowses 

(a  pair  of  braces). 

Getter-up 

(a  person  who  contrives  any 

thing). 

Gush 

(effusive  speech). 

Gusher 

(a  person  who  gushes). 

Happen  in,  to 

(to  happen  to  come  in). 

Headachy 

(afflicted  with  headache). 

Heft 

(weight). 

Hunk 

(a  large  piece). 

Kelter 

(proper  condition). 

Kinky 

(crotchety). 

Know-all 

(a  wiseacre). 

Laze,  to 

(to  waste  time  in  sloth). 

Locate,  to 

(to  settle). 

Lot 

(a  great  deal). 

Miff,  to 

(to  offend  slightly). 

Moonshiny 

(moonlight). 

Muffish 

(awkward). 

Nag,  to 

(to  tease  in  a  small  way). 

EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE 


221 


Natty- 
Notion 
Offish 
Outside 
Patter,  to 
Peeper 
Pokerish 
Pull 

Railroading 
Rattle,  to 
Rattle,  to 
Reckon,  to 
Right  along 

Right  away,  or  right  off 
Roomer 
Rubbers 
Rugged 
Run 
Run,  to 
Scamp,  to 
Scare 
Scoot,  to 
Seedy 
Set  back 
Set  out 
Settle 
Shaky 
Shaver 
Ship,  to 
Shoppy 
Sight 

Slam-bang 
Sleeper 
Snake,  to 
Spin,  to 
Startlish 
Stem-winder 
Stop,  to 
Tantrum 


(spruce). 

(an  inclination). 

(shy). 

(to  the  extreme  limit). 

(to  chatter). 

(the  eye). 

(adapted  to  cause  fear). 

(the  act  of  rowing). 

(managing  a  railway). 

(to  disconcert). 

(to  talk  idly). 

(to  think). 

(continuously). 

(at  once). 

(lodger). 

(overshoes). 

(vigorous). 

(a  trip). 

(to  manage). 

(to  do  work  imperfectly). 

(a  fright). 

(to  go  hastily  away). 

(shabby  looking). 

(a  repulse). 

(a  display). 

(to  pay). 

(easily  shaken). 

(a  boy). 

(to  get  rid  of). 

(pertaining  to  shops). 

(a  great  number). 

(with  a  slamming  noise). 

(a  sleeping  car). 

(to  drag  or  pull). 

(to  move  swiftly). 

(skittish). 

(a  stem-winding  watch). 

(to  stay). 

(a  fit  of  ill-humor). 


222         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Teeny- 

(tiny). 

Teetotal 

(total). 

Ten-strike 

(a  decisive  act). 

Thick 

(intimate). 

Thumping 

(heavy). 

Tip 

(a  fee). 

Upcountry 

(inland). 

Vim 

(energy). 

Weazeny 

(shrivelled). 

Wire,  to 

(to  telegraph). 

Yank,  to 

(to  jerk). 

Younker 

(a  young  person). 

CANT    AND 

SLANG. 

Boodle 

(bribe  money). 

Boss,  to 

(to  act  the  boss). 

Candidating 

(the  preaching  of  a  clergyman 

as  a  candidate). 

Doctor,  to 

(to  adulterate). 

Enthuse,  to 

(to  make  enthusiastic). 

Glim 

(light). 

Greek 

(a  knave). 

Kid 

(a  young  child). 

Mossback 

(an  old  partisan). 

Mugwump 

(an  Independent). 

Pipelaying 

(making     political     combina- 

tions). 

Plug 

(a  worthless  horse). 

Pull 

(an  advantage). 

Rummy 

(strange). 

Rope  in,  to 

(to  decoy). 

Run  into  the  ground,  to 

(to  overdo). 

Resurrect,  to 

(to  disinter  or  reanimate). 

Retiracy 

(retirement). 

Scalawag 

(a  scapegrace). 

Shag-rag 

(the  ragged  part  of  the  com- 

munity). 

Shine 

(a  fancy). 

EXERCISES  IN  PURITY   OF  STYLE  22$ 

Sockdolager  (that  which  ends  a  matter). 

Sorehead  (a  person  disaffected  by  fail- 

ure of  some  kind). 

Splurge  (a  great  display). 

Sport  (a  sportsman). 

Swell  (a  showy  person). 

Swell  (having  characteristics  of  rank 

and  importance). 

Errors  in  the  Use  of  Prepositions. 

The  following  examples  of  the  wrong  use  of  prepositions 
are  given  that  the  student  may  have  occasion  to  consult 
the  valuable  catalogue  of  verbs  and  the  prepositions  to  be 
used  with  them,  in  the  Preface  to  Worcester's  Unabridged 
Dictionary  : 

i.  He  is  accused  with  a  grave  offence. 

2.  It  is  not  agreeable  for  him  to  meet  his  old  acquaintances. 

3.  He  is  angry  with  his  ill-treatment. 

4.  I  connect  this  line  to  that. 

5.  The  wives  of  the  soldiers  were  frightened  with  the  announce- 
ment. 

6.  He  is  too  greedy  for  popularity. 

7.  He  is  destined  for  high  service. 

8.  May  I  ask  from  you  a  favor  ? 

9.  He  is  yoked  to  goodness  itself. 

10.  It  is  made  with  good  material. 

1 1 .  I  hope  that  it  is  consonant  with  your  wishes. 

12.  He  has  a  dislike  for  his  captain. 

13.  The  child's  antipathy  for  the  man  is  strange. 

14.  There  is  need  for  more  help. 

15.  He.  sympathizes  now  for  his  rival. 

16.  He  bargained  about  the  property  for  a  long  time. 

1 7.  The  decision  is  acceptable  with  most  of  the  heirs. 

18.  It  is  something  peculiar  with  this  stream. 

19.  What  larger  incentive  for  his  best  efforts  could  the  man  have? 

20.  Is  this  disagreeable  for  you. 


224        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

21.  He  truly  repents  for  his  evil  influence. 

22.  The  instruction  is  not  adapted  for  such  pupils. 

23.  He  is  possessed  with  a  large  estate. 

24.  He  is  a  witness  for  the  truth. 

25.  This  I  know  will  be  a  cure  for  the  difficulty. 

26.  The  child  will  die  from  the  disease. 

27.  Is  he  emulous  for  honors  ? 

28.  The  more  a  man  gives  for  this  cause  the  larger  will  be  his 
ultimate  reward. 

29.  He  made  an  apology  of  what  he  had  done. 

30.  One  element  of  the  school  did  not  assimilate  with  the  other. 

31.  He  is  descended  of  a  good  family. 

32.  She  is  careless  with  her  valuables. 

33.  He  concedes  with  my  proposition. 

34.  The  man  grappled  at  him. 

35.  He  is  overwhelmed  in  trouble. 

36.  They  mingle  in  good  society. 

37.  He  does  not  confide  with  me. 

Miscellaneous  Errors. 

In  the  following  examples,  the  student  will  name  the  error 
in  the  use  of  the  italicized  word  or  phrase  as  a  barbarism, 
a  Solecism,  or  an  Impropriety,  and  substitute  for  it  the  proper 
word  or  phrase.  These  examples  will  be  useful  as  a  means 
to  a  general  review  of  earlier  studies  in  English.  With  a 
large  number  of  common  errors  in  the  use  of  words,  the  ex- 
amples include  the  mistakes  in  elementary  grammar  which 
experience  in  examining  students  for  admission  to  college, 
not  to  speak  of  what  is  often  heard  later  in  their  extempo- 
raneous and  sometimes  even  in  their  prepared  work,  has 
shown  to  need  faithful  attention  until  correct  habits  of 
speech  are  formed. 

1.  He  has   tried  to  resurrect  popular  feeling,  but  the  people  do 
not  enthuse. 

2.  In  discussing  this  matter  he  plead  that  the  change  had  suc- 
ceeded elsewhere. 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY   OF  STYLE  225 

3.  I  would  have  liked  to  have  asked  him  about  his  brother. 

4.  You  speaking  of  it,  reminds  me  of  the  occurrence. 

5.  It  grows  everywheres  here. 

6.  His  manner  was  some  improved  after  a  few   weeks   in   the 
school. 

7.  I  maintain,  firstly,  that  it  is  the  safest  course  for  the  party. 

8.  It  is  with  those  sort  of  plants  that  he  succeeds. 

9.  Thusly,  it  follows  from  what  has  been  said. 

10.  The  decision  was  more  unanimous  than  was  expected. 

11.  He  was  treated  illy  by  the  other  workmen. 

12.  His  statement  is  now  proven  to  be  false. 

13.  Whichever  way  he  lead  I  followed. 

14.  I  knew  of  him  succeeding  once. 

15.  The  seldom  use  of  it. 

16.  He  is  not  as  tall  as  his  brother. 

1 7.  I  hoped  to  get  quite  a  number  of  names. 

18.  Among  this  class  you  will  find  some  good  students. 

19.  The  catcher  's  accident. 

20.  It  's  success  is  sure. 

21.  He  is  like  a  beast  of  prey  who  destroys  without  mercy. 

22.  A  high  spirited  girl  like  her  mother  was. 

23.  I  do  not  remember  of  saying  that  he  was  there. 

24.  The  severity  of  all  these  diseases  depend  on  their  early  treat- 
ment. 

25.  I  promise  you  that  we  could  not  have  arranged  a  better  trip  for 
the  same  time. 

26.  After  the  failure  of  all  other  subjects  to  interest,  this  nauseat- 
ing scandal  was  brought  on  the  carpet. 

27.  This  philanthropic  tendency  has  interfered  with  his  daily  avo- 
cation. 

28.  A  capacious  hole  made  the  boat  useless. 

29.  Exercise  physical,  mental  and  moral  are  essential  to  the  best 
development. 

30.  Our  country's  great  territory. 

31.  Is  this  your's  ? 

32.  I  have  constantly  met  him  going  to  town. 

33.  At  the  same  time  I  were  speaking  to  you. 

34.  Are  you  confident  that  he  shall  succeed  ? 

35.  He  drunk  the  water  with  feverish  thirst. 

15 


226         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

36.  The  tornado  decimated  the   orchard  leaving  scarcely  a  tree 
upright. 

37.  It  is  a  report  that  should  be  wholly  discounted. 

38.  Judson's  the  butcher. 

39.  A  female  has  often  governed  England. 

40.  What  was  the.  future  career  of  Aaron  Burr,  we  know. 

41.  I  have  a  limited  acquaintance. 

42.  For  a  lengthened  period  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  was  a 
helpless  invalid. 

43.  He  partook  of  his  dinner  alone. 

44.  Prolific  hailstones  have  visited  us  this  season. 

45.  Since  competition  began  in  that  line  of  furniture  such  articles 
can  be  bought  at  a  limited  price. 

46.  That  is  the  student  who  I  gave  the  book  to. 

47.  Why  did  you  adopt  that  route  ? 

48.  I  was  told  of  him  winning  the  case. 

49.  Hardly  had  that  disease  left  me  than  this  attacked  me. 

50.  He  is  now  quite  well,  but  hopes  to  be  entirely  well  before  he 
returns. 

51.  My  confidence  in  him  is  so  implicit  that  I  shall  make  no  in- 
quiries. 

52.  He  had  rode  twenty  miles  to  meet  me  at  the  train. 

53.  Will  I  see  you  in  the  winter  ? 

54.  Every  one  of  the  taxpayers  who  built  this  hall  have  reason  to 
complain. 

55.  The  balance  of  the  audience  remained  until  the  end  of  the  en- 
tertainment. 

56.  I  expect  it  was  an  expensive  experiment. 

57.  He  handed  me  a  couple  of  books. 

58.  Neither  of  these  authors  were  men   who  had  to  earn   their 
living. 

59.  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  hers. 

60.  With  his  wealth  he  may  do  it  easily. 

61.  I  will  be,  expected  there  to-morrow. 

62.  Your  postal  came  in  time  for  me  to  get  this  electric. 

63.  He  expects  a  raise  in  his  salary  next  year. 

64.  It  was  he  who  came  between  you  and  /,  and  made  this  ill- 
feeling. 

65.  Male  and  female  teachers  have  been  engaged. 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE  2.2*7 

66.  It  is  one  of  many  storms  that  has  been  peculiar  to  this  sea- 
son. 

67.  Our  country's  great  territory. 

68.  It  was  myself  who  told  you. 

69.  I  knew  him  when  he  was  a  collegiate. 

70.  I  do  not  like  this  party,  he  seems  conceited. 

71.  When  the  kettle  was  hanged  over  the  newly  made  fire. 

72.  The  boy  held  firmly  to  a  banister  of  the  staircase. 

73.  They  had  a  right  to  compel  him  to  give  back  the  money. 

74.  "  It  is  me,"  I  answered. 

75.  He  denied  that  he  had  done  it. 

76.  I  pitied  him    laying  so  helpless  before  me. 
yj.  I  left  an  order  at  Johnson's  the  tailor. 

78.  His  benevolent  actions  last  winter  everyone  remembers. 

79.  He  was  not  able  to  take  part  in  the  observation  of  the  anni- 
versary. 

80.  The  ropedancers  were  seen  by  a  great  audience. 

81.  Mother-in-laws  are  the  inspiration  of  much  cheap  wit. 

82.  He  enters  the  house,  saw  his  victim  alone,  and  brutally  killed 
him. 

83.  He  laid  clown  for  a  little  rest. 

84.  A  long  cortege  followed  him  to  the  grave. 

85.  She  looks  beautifully  to-night. 

86.  Deo  volente,  I  will  come  Wednesday. 

87.  Where  was  you  when  he  arrived  ? 

88.  The  never-to-be-forgotten  description  of  the  death  of  Helen 
Pendennis. 

89.  He  wired  him  to  get  ready  for  a  boom  in  building  lots  near 
the  river. 

90.  The  curricula  of  our  college  is  too  large  for  our  faculty. 

91.  His  strength  of  will  and  habits  of  application  makes  him  suc- 
cessful in  whatever  he  attempts. 

92.  A  young  man  don't  go  to  the  top  in  this  business  because  he 
has  friends  to  boost  him. 

93.  They  were  cotemporary. 

94.  The  democracy  has  this  year  in  New  York  State  a  larger  vote 
than  the  republican  party. 

95.  Gents  can  get  pants  and  kids  at  a  very  low  price  while  we 
are  reducing  our  stock. 


228         RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

96.  Field   day   will    not   be   changed   unless    the   whole   of   the 
students  favor  the  change. 

97.  This  he  suffered  for  conscience's  sake. 

98.  The  exercise  in  gym  is  not  long. 

99.  The  dropping  of  a  few  shovelsfuloi  earth,  and  it  will  all  be  over. 

100.  The  news  from  the  strike  are  conflicting. 

101.  It  hadn't  ought  to  be  such  a  burden  to  you. 

102.  He  set  there  for  more  than  hour. 

103.  Before  we  agree  to  this  let  us  ask  cut  bono  ? 

104.  The  appointment  is  to  be  given  to  whosoever  the  record  of 
the  season  shows  to  be  the  best  man. 

105.  Ere  we  do  this  let  us  ponder  o'er  the  matter, 

106.  I  inaugurated  the  term  with  a  letter  home. 

107.  My  friend  and  myself  will  join  you  at  Antwerp. 

108.  Will  you  try  and  learn  it  ? 

109.  I  met  a  quantity  of  friends  while  in  Europe. 

no.  The  enthusiasm  has  overflown,  and  we  see  the  bad  result  in 
a  sentimental  freshet. 

in.  Was  it  her  or  him  who  told  you  ? 

112.  A  lady  stood  in  the  bow  window. 

113.  Before  the  guilty  man  was  hung  he  plead  earnestly  for  a 
week's  respite. 

114.  It  is  difficult  to  perfectly  translate  this  passage. 

115.  He  waiteth  for  the  morn  but  it  comcth  not. 

116.  Who  are  you  calling. 

1 17.  One  should  be  ready  to  do  his  duty  whatever  the  cost. 

118.  Book  after  book  added  themselves  to  the  useless  pile. 

119.  Tell  me  who  he  injured. 

1 20.  Each  of  these  facts  are  strong  arguments. 

121.  I  am  sure  that  you  shall  do  this  after  what  has  been  said. 

122.  Will  you  call  on  this  gentleman  whom  I  have  told  you  is  to 
visit  me  ? 

123.  You  are  real  kind  to  help  me  out  of  this  difficulty. 

124.  Charles  has  such  a  craze  for  baseball  that  his  friends  call  him 
a  crank. 

125.  Diredly  he  saw  me  at  the  window  he  came  to  my  room. 

126.  He  does  not  live  in  this  section. 

127.  The  balance  of  the  vacation  went  quickly. 

128.  Have  you  decided  whether  or  no  you  will  remain  ? 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY   OE  STYLE  22C) 

129.  He  will  tell  you  which  of  the  two  roads  is  the  least  difficult. 

130.  H&flew  from  the  burning  building  only  in  time  to  save  his  life. 

131.  I  have  every  confidence  in  him. 

132.  He  is  quite  a  football  player  as  well  as  quite  a  musician. 

133.  He  cannot  speak  any. 

134.  She  donates  this  year  a  large  sum  to  the  hospital. 

135.  He  loaned  the  young  man  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  his  ex- 
penses at  college. 

136.  It  was  an  abortive  bonfire. 

137.  Whenever  such  a  man  talks  to  me  he  aggravates  me. 

138.  I  have  travelled  all  over  the  state. 

139.  At  length  the  meeting  ended  and  we  left  the  hall. 

140.  She  thinks  that  she  has  now  a  sure  preventative. 

141.  His  business  has  ameliorated. 

142.  He  has  worked  above  his  powers. ' 

143.  If  you  were  posted  you  would  not  say  that. 

144.  The  prevalence  of  baseball  and  football  in  our  schools  and 
colleges  have  not  been  without  their  moral  as  well  as  physical  ad- 
vantage. 

145.  Several  officials  were  seen  on  the  grounds. 

146.  He  is  one  of  those  men  who  hopes  to  be  famous  some  time. 

147.  Did  you  anticipate  my  arrival  to-day? 

148.  She  has  beauty  and  wealth,  and  likewise  goodness. 

149.  Take  two  spoonsful  every  hour. 

1 50.  My  guide  and  myself  were  in  doubt. 

151.  Why  don't  it  come  ? 

152.  The  new  manager  is  a  success. 

Exercises  Without    Reference   to    Dictionaries    and 

Other  Books. 

The  following  notes  on  violations  of  Purity  are  by  Pro- 
fessor Phelps.  These  notes,  with  the  exercises  for  correc- 
tion which  come  immediately  after  them,  will  provide 
means,  without  further  reference,  for  applying  many  of  the 
principles  of  the  chapters  on  Purity. 

1.  Admire  is  improperly  used  in  the  sense  of  "desire  ;  "  as  in  the 
expression  "  I  should  admin'  to  go."     In  the  seventeenth  century  it 


23O        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AATD  PRACTICE 

was  used  to  express  wonder  alone.  Jeremy  Taylor  wrote,  "  In  man 
there  is  nothing  admirable  but  his  ignorance  and  his  weakness ;  " 
that  is,  nothing  surprising.  Modern  usage  has  added,  in  its  use  of 
the  word,  to  the  idea  of  wonder,  that  of  approval. 

2.  Alternative  is  often  used,  in  improper  construction,  in  the 
phrase  "  which  of  two  alternatives."  In  strict  definition,  an  alterna- 
tive is  a  choice  between  two  things.  We  say,  "  This  was  the  alter- 
native," and  then  specify  two  things  between  which  the  choice  must 
be  made.  Two  alternatives  imply  four  objects  of  selection.  Dr. 
Chalmers  employs  the  word  correctly  when  he  says,  "  My  purpose 
might  have  been  expressed  in  the  following  short  alternative  :  that, 
if  I  got  my  arrangements  in  the  parish  of  St.  John's,  I  would  not  take 
the  professorship  ;  but,  if  I  did  not  get  them,  I  would  think  of  it." 
Here  are  two  hypotheses  making  one  alternative. 

3.  Anon  is  now  obsolescent.  In  the  phrase  "  ever  and  anon  "  we 
sometimes  hear  it,  but  even  there  the  word  is  retiring  behind  the 
cover  of  poetic  license. 

4.  As  is  improperly  used  for  "  that."  "  I  do  not  know  as  I  shall 
go  "  was  once  good  English  :  now  "  as  "  thus  employed  is  a  vulgar- 
ism. 

5.  Awful  in  the  sense  of  "  disagreeable  "  is  an  impropriety.  It 
is  a  provincialism  of  New  England.  Lambert,  in  his  "  American 
Travels,"  says,  "  The  country-people  of  New  England  speak  of 
everything  that  creates  surprise  as  being  awful  :  they  say  an  '  awful 
wind,'  '  an  awful  hole,'  '  an  awful  mouth.' '  Robert  Hall,  by  a  singu- 
lar lapse  from  his  usually  pure  dialect,  employs  the  word  in  the  same 
sense.  Two  travellers  at  Rome  once  criticised  Michael  Angelo's 
statue  of  Moses.  "  Is  it  not  awful  ?  "  said  one.  "  Yes,"  answered 
the  other  :  "  it  is  sublime." — "  No,  no  !  "  rejoined  the  other  :  "  I 
meant  awfully  ugly."  The  second  speaker  used  the  word  in  its  legit- 
imate sense  of  "  inspiring  awe. "  Dr.  Barrow  speaks  of  God  as  an 
"  awful  Being."  Dr.  Watts  describes  the  joys  of  heaven  as  involving 
"  awful  mirth."  This  is  another  sense  of  the  word,  that  of  being 
"  filled  with  awe,"  once  in  good  use,  but  now  obsolete. 

6.  Base  used  in  the  sense  of  "  found  :  "  "  He  based  his  argument 
on  testimony."  This  use,  till  a  very  recent  period,  was  condemned 
by  critics  ;  but  it  has  made  its  way  into  the  language.  Dr.  Whately 
employs  it,  and  he  rarely  uses  a  word  not  good  English. 

7.  Belittle. — We  need  this  word  :  we  have  no  exact  equivalent. 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE  23  I 

Some  dictionaries  admit  it.  But  at  present  it  is  not  supported  by  the 
best  usage.  Mr.  Bartlett,  the  author  of  the  most  valuable  work  we 
have  on  Americanisms,  says  that  Thomas  Jefferson  is  the  only  au- 
thor of  distinction  who  has  employed  it.  He  is  not  sufficient  literary 
authority  for  the  creation  of  a  word.  This  word  is  one  of  a  large 
class  of  compounds  of  the  word  "  be  "  which  tempt  a  loose  writer. 
The  fact  deserves  notice,  that  more  than  a  hundred  of  these  com- 
pounds found  in  one  of  our  standard  dictionaries  are  not  good  Eng- 
lish. 

8.  Calculate  for  Think  is  a  provincialism  of  New  England. 
Its  proper  meaning  is  to  "  reckon."  By  a  singular  coincidence,  this 
latter  word  is  also  used  as  a  provincialism  at  the  West  and  at  the 
South  for  the  idea  for  which  "  calculate  "  is  employed  in  New  Eng- 
land. 

9.  Can  but  vs.  Can  not  but. — Which  ?  Shall  we  say,  "  I  can 
not  but  think,"  or  "  I  can  but  think  "  ?  The  best  usage  prefers  the 
former. 

10.  Christianization. — We  have  no  such  word  in  classic  use, 
though  the  dictionaries  contain  it.  The  participle  "  Christianizing  " 
is  employed  in  a  substantive  sense.  Good  taste  avoids,  if  possible, 
words  of  six  syllables.     Saxon  idiom  chooses  brevity. 

11.  Christless  is  to  be  found  in  dictionaries,  but  not  in  the  best 
authors.     It  is  a  barbarism  of  the  pulpit. 

12.  Communitv  should  not  be  used  without  the  article,  to  express 
the  idea  of  "  population."  The  article  is  often  omitted  when  the 
word  expresses  the  abstract  idea,  as  in  the  phrase  "  community  of 
goods."  But  to  indicate  the  people  of  a  city  we  should  say  "  the 
community." 

13.  Conditioned,  in  the  sense  of  "dependent  upon."  American 
dictionaries  recognize  this  :  but  in  the  best  usage,  the  word  is  still 
restricted  to  its  old  meaning;  that  is,  "  stipulated." 

14.  Conduct  is  often  improperly  used  without  tin-  reflexive  pro- 
noun ;  as  in  the  phrase  "  he  conducts  will."  It  should  be  "  he  con- 
ducts himself  well." 

15.  Compound  Words.  —  The  following  memoranda  deserve 
notice  : 

(1)  The  presumption  is  always  against  the  purity  of  compounds  of 
great  length.  The  license,  in  this  respect,  in  which  the  German  mind 
luxuriates,  the  English  language  does  not  tolerate.    The  Saxon  taste, 


232         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

which  inclines  always  to  brevity,  keeps  multitudes  of  words  of  this 
structure  at  bay.  Individual  authors  coin  them,  but  the  national 
mind  rejects  them. 

(2)  The  study  of  the  German  language  and  literature  should  be 
conducted  with  precaution  against  the  use  of  compounds.  German 
taste  manufactures  them  without  restriction.  The  German  language 
admits  them  without  violence  to  its  structure  and  its  history.  Not 
so  the  English  language.  Yet  our  language  suffers  from  the  use  of 
German  importations  by  students  of  German  literature  who  are  not 
classic  in  their  rhetorical  tastes. 

(3)  Therefore,  whenever  a  compound  word  betrays  a  foreign  origin, 
it  should  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  Some  such  words  have  doubt- 
less become  good  English,  but  multitudes  of  other  such  have  not. 

(4)  Compounds  which  from  their  signification  are  likely  to  be  of 
clannish  or  technical  origin  should  be  suspected.  Such  words 
should  be  presumed  to  be  barbarisms  till  their  right  to  a  place  in  the 
language  is  proved  by  investigation. 

(5)  Compounds  which  by  reason  of  their  construction  are  odd,  or 
difficult  of  enunciation,  are  presumptively  not  good  English.  Dr. 
Orville  Dewey  coins  the  word  "  rich-man-ness  "  to  express  pride  of 
purse.  The  oddity  of  the  word  should  be  enough  to  condemn  it. 
Scholarly  taste  never  can  have  coined  such  a  word.  A  member  of 
the  American  Congress  once  said  that  he  was  not  a  good  speaker, 
and  that  he  was  obliged  to  hold  on  to  his  desk  and  steady  himself,  if 
he  attempted  to  use  the  word  "eleemosynary."  Many  of  the  com- 
pound words  which  are  lying  around  loose  upon  the  outskirts  of  our 
language,  if  tried  by  the  same  test,  would  fail  of  admission. 

(6)  Compounds  which  evidently  descend  to  low  or  comic  style  are 
presumptively  not  pure  English.  A  writer  in  our  current  literature 
coins  the  word  "  go-ahead-a-tive-ness."  One  need  not  pause  to  in- 
vestigate usage  to  know  that  such  an  abortion  as  this  has  no  place  in 
classic  English.  An  interesting  phase  in  the  history  of  such  com- 
pounds is  witnessed  in  the  history  of  the  Greek  literature.  In  its 
earliest  periods,  when  the  language  was  in  its  infancy,  as  in  Homer 
and  Hesiod,  compound  words  abounded.  When  the  language  reached 
its  maturity,  in  the  works  of  the  later  poets  and  philosophers,  but 
few  such  words  were  used,  or  recognized  by  classic  authority.  They 
are  not  favorites  with  Plato.  At  that  period  the  large  majority  of 
long  compounds  are  found  in  the  comic  writers  alone.    Aristophanes 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY   OF  STYLE  233 

abounds  with  them.  He  is  reported  to  have  once  coined  a  word  of 
seventy-seven  syllables.  They  were  used  as  an  expedient  for  ex- 
pressing low  or  ludicrous  ideas. 

A  striking  similarity  to  this  is  seen  in  the  use  of  such  words  in  our 
own  language.  They  multiply  in  number  as  we  descend  from  se- 
rious and  dignified  productions  to  the  comic  and  the  vulgar.  Their 
spawn  is  in  the  swampy  low  grounds  of  our  literature. 

(7)  Yet  it  must  be  admitted,  that,  in  our  language,  compounds  of 
two  syllables  are  very  numerous.  It  is  an  old  Saxon  usage  to  coin 
new  words  by  linking  two  old  ones.  Such  compounds  as  "  dog-star," 
"  day-labor,"  "  state-rights,"  are  perfectly  good,  and,  scores  like 
them.  Why  some,  and  not  others,  are  admitted  by  the  national 
taste,  it  is  often  impossible  to  say.  A  cultivated  taste  and  a  delicate 
ear  must  gradually  form  one's  style  till  extensive  reading  has  given  to 
it  a  classic  character.  Years  of  unbridled  license  in  the  use  of  com- 
pounds can  only  corrupt  one's  style  hopelessly. 

16.  Declension  is  improperly  used  to  signify  the  act  of  declining. 
It  is  a  good  word  to  express  the  state  of  decline,  or  the  process  of 
decline.  But  we  cannot  say,  "  He  sent  in  his  declension  of  the  of- 
fice." Webster's  Dictionary  admits  the  word  in  this  sense,  but  it  is 
not  found  in  the  works  of  the  first  class  of  English  authors.  We 
need  a  word  to  express  the  act  in  question  :  we  have  none  but  the 
participle  "  declining."  Somebody  was  in  distress  for  the  right  word 
who  reported  that  a  certain  officer  had  sent  in  his  "  decleniency." 
"  Declinature  "  may  yet  make  its  way  into  reputable  use. 

17.  Deed  used  as  a  verb  is  a  technicality  of  law,  not  good  English 
elsewhere. 

18.  Deity  should  not  be  used  without  the  article  except  to  express 
the  abstract  quality  of  divinity.    It  is  not  the  proper  synonym  of  "  God." 

19.  Desk  for  Pulpit,  in  the  phrase  "sacred  desk,"  is  an 
Americanism. 

20.  Deputize  is  one  of  the  numerous  coinages  of  verbs  by  the 
Greek  termination  ize.     The  right  word  is  "  depute." 

21.  Donate  is  one  of  the  counterfeit  coins  of  verbs  from  substan- 
tives never  used  by  writers  of  critical  taste.  The  substantives  "  do- 
nation "  and  "  donative  "  are  good  words. 

22.  Don't. — The  contraction  is  noticeable  as  being  often  used  col- 
loquially for  "  doesn't."  To  say.  even  conversationally,  "  he  don't," 
is  not  grammatical,  unless  the  subjunctive  mood  is  employed. 


234        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

23.  Doxologize. — It  is  astonishing  that  so  scholarly  a  critic  as 
Dr.  Worcester  should  have  admitted  this  word  into  his  dictionary  on 
the  obsolete  authority  of  the  early  editions  of  an  English  dictionary 
from  which  it  was  afterwards  excluded. 

24.  Drouth  for  Drought. — A  relic  of  Anglo-Saxon  orthog- 
raphy.    Used  by  Lord  Bacon,  now  a  vulgarism. 

25.  Effectuate. — We  have  no  such  word  in  classic  use,  though 
dictionaries  contain  it. 

26.  Energize  is  improperly  used  to  signify  exerting  energy :  its 
true  meaning  is  to  impart  energy. 

27.  England  for  Britain. — The  error  here  is  not  that  of  calling 
the  three  countries  by  the  name  of  one  :  that  is  politically  correct,  and 
sustained  by  usage.  The  error  is  the  anachronism  of  designating  the 
three  kingdoms  by  the  single  name  of  England  before  their  union. 
The  most  scholarly  usage  would  not  authorize  us  to  say  that  "  Caesar 
invaded  England  :  "  he  invaded  Britain.  So  Gaul  was  conquered  by 
the  Romans,  not  France. 

28.  Evangelization  is  one  of  the  long-winded  words  which 
more  classic  use  has  curtailed  to  the  participial  noun  "  evangel- 
izing." 

29.  Eventuate  is  a  barbarism,  like  "  effectuate,"  the  origin  of 
which  is  unknown. 

30.  Exhumate. — Somebody  has  coined  this  verb  from  the  good 
English  noun  "  exhumation."     The  true  verb  is  "  exhume." 

31.  Expect  for  Think  is  a  vulgarism,  probably  suggested  by  the 
similar  use  of  the  word  "  suspect  "  as  the  synonym  of  "  think. "  Both 
are  provincial  vulgarisms  of  New  England. 

32.  Extreme  should  not  be  used  as  if  it  were  the  positive  form 
of  the  adjective  :  it  is  the  superlative.  Good  usage,  therefore,  does 
not  authorize  the  phrases  "  more  extreme,"  "  most  extreme." 

33.  Fall  for  Autumn  is  not  objectionable  colloquially ;  but,  in 
public  discourse,  "  autumn  "  is  in  better  taste.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  we  have  not  retained  uniformity  of  Anglo-Saxon  titles  for  the 
four  seasons.  We  need  the  word  "  harvest  '*  in  place  of  autumn, 
the  old  Saxon  "  hearfest."  In  the  rural  districts  of  England  one  often 
hears  the  seasons  indicated  by  the  titles  spring,  summer,  harvest, 
winter. 

34.  Fellowship  is  improperly  used  as  a  verb.  This  use  of  it  is 
generally  condemned  as  an  Americanism.     But  it  was  thus  used  by 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE  235 

Sir  Thomas  Mallory,  in  the  "  History  of  King  Arthur,"  and  published 
by  the  celebrated  printer  Caxton,  in  1485.  This  error  is  therefore  of 
English  origin  ;  but  it  has  fallen  out  of  good  use  there,  and  is  prob- 
ably one  of  the  words  retained  in  this  country  by  the  early  emigrants 
from  Great  Britain.  Many  words  and  significations  of  this  class  are 
now  supposed  to  be  Americanisms  which  are  really  old  English,  now 
obsolete  in  the  mother-country,  but  not  so  here. 

35.  Firstly  for  First. — "  Secondly,"  "  thirdly,"  etc.,  are  correct ; 
but "  first  "  is  itself  an  adverbial  form.  Charles  Dickens  generally 
uses  "  firstly."     De  Ouincey  also  employs  it. 

36.  Fix,  in  the  sense  of  "  to  put  in  order,"  is  incorrect.  It  is  an 
Americanism  which  has  no  authority  in  scholarly  usage.  The  proper 
meaning  of  the  word  is  "  to  make  firm." 

37.  Fixity  for  Fixedness  is  a  barbarism.  It  is  probably  im- 
ported from  the  French  fixitL  To  illustrate  the  distress  for  a  bar- 
baric style  which  literary  men  sometimes  manifest,  the  error  of  Rob- 
ert Boyle,  the  Irish  philosopher,  deserves  notice,  in  coining  the  word 
"  fixidity." 

38.  Gift  improperly  used  as  a  verb  is  sometimes  heard.  We 
have  the  participial  form  "  gifted,"  and  probably  the  verbal  use  of 
"  gift  "  has  been  coined  from  that. 

39.  Gospel. — Improperly  employed  as  an  adjective  in  a  host  of 
compounds  ;  such  as,  "  gospel-light,"  "  gospel-privileges,"  "  gospel- 
truth,"  "  gospel-preaching,"  "  gospel-sinners,"  etc.  Not  one  of  these 
is  in  classic  use. 

40.  Happify  is  a  barbarism.  Even  "  dictionaries  unabridged  "  do 
not  contain  it. 

41.  Heaven  is  improperly  used  as  the  synonym  of  "  God."  Mil- 
ton speaks  of  "  the  permission  of  all-ruling  Heaven."  It  must  be 
conceded  that  old  English  usage  authorizes  this,  but  any  impersonal 
title  of  God  should  be  generally  avoided. 

42.  Heavenly-mindedness  is  one  of  the  cant  words  for  which 
we  are  indebted  to  the  Puritan  pulpit.  "  A  heavenly  mind  "  ex- 
presses the  idea  perfectly.  "  Heavenly  minded  "  carries  the  com- 
pound to  its  extreme. 

43.  Hope  is  improperly  used  for  "  hope  for."  Dr.  Charming,  who 
is  not  often  guilty  of  unscholarly  English,  says,  "  We  may  hope  the 
blessing  of  God." 

44.  How  is  often  improperly  employed  interrogatively  for  some 


236        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

such  query  as,  "  What  did  you  say,  sir?  "  This  is  a  colloquial  vul- 
garism of  New  England.  Thus  used,  the  word  has  no  meaning 
to  which  it  can  be  grammatically  applied.  A  man  not  accustomed 
to  the  dialect  of  cultivated  society,  if  he  has  not  understood  the  re- 
mark of  a  friend  says,  "  How  ?  "  meaning  that  he  desires  a  repetition 
of  the  remark.  Polite  usage,  in  such  a  case,  prescribes  the  formula, 
"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  or  "  Excuse  me,  sir."  These  have  a  meaning 
pertinent  to  the  case.  "  How  ?  "  signifies  nothing.  Such  colloquial 
errors  would  not  deserve  a  place  here,  were  it  not  that  the  indulgence 
of  them  in  conversational  habit  inevitably  creates  similar  violations  of 
good  taste  in  written  style.  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  remarks, 
that  the  two  signs  of  ignorance  of  cultured  society  are,  that  a  man 
eats  with  his  knife,  and  says,  "  Haow  ?  " 

45.  Illy  for  III  was  in  good  use  in  Jeremy  Taylor's  time,  but  is 
now  obsolete. 

46.  Implicit  in  the  sense  of  "  undoubting,"  as  in  the  phrase  "  im- 
plicit trust,"  is  recognized  by  the  dictionaries,  but  not  by  the  most 
scholarly  authors.  Its  proper  meaning  is  the  opposite  of  "  explicit." 
"Did  he  assent  to  the  contract?  Not  explicitly,  but  implicitly;" 
that  is,  by  implication.  Etymology  still  rules  the  signification  of  both 
these  words.  "  Involved  "and  "  evolved  "  express  the  contrast  of  ideas. 

Yet  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  word,  in  the  sense  here  con- 
demned, is  making  its  way  into  good  use.  Only  the  more  scrupulous 
authors  now  reject  it.  De  Ouincey  makes  a  concession  to  it,  when 
he  says,  that,  in  all  his  reading,  he  had  found  only  two  authors, 
Coleridge  and  Wordsworth,  who  uniformly  employ  it  in  its  old  ety- 
mological meaning.  If  only  two  writers  within  a  large  range  of 
literature  are  faithful  to  its  ancient  use,  it  must  be  far  on  towards 
establishment  in  the  language. 

47.  Inaugurate  in  the  sense  of  "  introduce  "  is  an  impropriety. 
The  proper  sense  is  "  to  invest  with  office."  It  always  refers  to 
some  official  solemnity.  The  derivation  of  it  from  the  old  Roman 
augur  indicates  this  ;  the  augurs  being  the  officers  who  invested  the 
emperors  with  office  by  religious  ceremonies.  Yet  so  scholarly  an 
authority  as  The  North  American  Review  says  that  a  certain  ship 
"  was  only  a  copy  of  a  model  inaugurated  by  Mr.  Collins."  Grant 
White,  commenting  upon  this,  suggests  that  the  writer  should  have 
added,  that  "  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  invented  on  the 
4th  of  March." 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY   OF  STYLE  237 

48.  Incident  is  improperly  confounded  with  "  liable."  Says  a 
living  writer  "  The  work  was  incident  to  decay."  He  should  have 
turned  it  end  for  end.  Decay  may  be  incident  to  a  work  :  the  work 
is  liable  to  decay. 

49.  Intend. — A  very  common  impropriety  is  the  use  of  this  word 
as  the  synonym  of  "  mean."  To  intend  is  to  purpose,  to  will.  Dean 
Trench  commits  this  error  in  his  "  Study  of  Words." 

50.  Irreligionist  is  another  of  the  barbarous  coinages  of  recent 
years. 

51.  Jeopardize  is  an  Americanism,  coined  with  the  Greek  form 
of  termination.     The  English  word  is  "  jeopard." 

52.  Lay  and  Lie. — The  preterites  of  these  two  verbs  are  often 
confounded.  Scholarly  thoughtfulness  is  requisite  to  enable  even  an 
educated  man  always  to  avoid  the  error.  Says  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard College,  "  He  laid  down."  He  should  have  said,  either  "  He 
lay  down,"  or  "  He  laid  himself  down." 

53.  Lengthy  for  Long  is  very  common  in  this  country,  and  is 
used  by  some  English  reviews,  and  commended  by  some  authorities. 
But  "  lengthy  "  certainly  contains  an  idea  which  "long"  does  not 
contain.  It  includes  the  idea  of  tediousness,  and  therefore  it  is  not 
wholly  useless.     It  is  employed  by  Coleridge  and  Lord  Byron. 

54.  Lieve  for  Lief. — The  latter  is  the  English  word.  Shake- 
speare is  classic  in  saying,  "  I  had  as  lief  the  town-crier  spoke  my 
lines."  The  meaning  is  "  willingly."  Spenser,  in  the  "  Faerie 
Oueene,"  employs  "  lief "  as  an  adjective.  That  use  is  obsolete. 
The  word  is  an  old  Saxon  adverb. 

55.  Long  used  as  a  noun  is  a  very  frequent  error  in  the  style  of 
Alison  the  historian.  "  He  was  gone  for  long,"  says  Alison,  mean- 
ing, "  for  a  long  time." 

56.  Mean  for  Means. — Till  recently  the  Scottish  writers  favored 
the  singular  form  ;  the  English,  the  plural.  Since  the  time  of  Addi- 
son, English  and  American  use  has  adopted  the  plural.  It  is  now- 
used  with  either  the  plural  or  the  singular  pronoun. 

57.  Methinks  for  I  think  was  an  old  Anglo-Saxon  form,  but  it 
has  become  obsolete  except  in  poetry.  Yet  there  are  two  remarkable 
authorities  for  it.  One  is  Edward  Everett  in  his  celebrated  vision  of 
"  The  Mayflower  :  "  "  Methinks  I  see  it  now  !  "  The  other  is  Haw- 
thorne. Both  are  good  authorities  ;  but  it  is  improbable  that  either 
would  use  it  if  living  now. 


238        RHETORIC ,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

58.  Mighty  for  Very  should  not  find  a  place  here  if  it  were 
not  used  by  graduates  of  colleges.  "  Mighty  small,"  "  mighty 
weak,"  etc.,  are  among  those  improprieties  which  creep  into  one's 
written  style  if  indulged  in  colloquially.  It  was  in  reputable  use  in 
England  two  hundred  years  ago. 

59.  Militate  with  should  be  "  militate  against."  We  say, 
"  Conflicts  with,"  obeying  the  etymology  of  the  verb  ;  but  the  other 
phrase  has  no  such  defence. 

60.  Missionate,  in  the  sense  of  "  to  act  as  a  missionary." — It 
oecurs  in  The  Missionary  Herald,  and  is  occasionally  heard  in 
sermons.     We  have  no  such  word  in  the  language. 

61.  Moot,  improperly  employed  in  the  phrase  "moot-point." — 
The  word  is  a  technicality  of  schools  of  law,  in  which  imaginary 
courts  are  held  for  the  disciplinary  exercises  of  students.  It  has  no 
classic  authority. 

62.  News. — Is  it  singular,  or  plural  ?  Illiterate  usage  asks, 
"  What  are  the  news  ?  "     Milton  says,  "  111  news  rides  fast." 

63.  Nice  in  the  sense  of  "  agreeable  "  is  an  Americanism.  We 
speak  improperly  of  a  "  nice  day,"  a  "  nice  fortune."  A  common 
vulgarism  in  metropolitan  society  is  to  designate  certain  persons  as 
"  nice  people,"  meaning  that  they  are  agreeable  people.  The  correct 
meaning  of  the  word  is  "  fastidious."  A  nice  critic  is  a  critic  of  fas- 
tidious taste. 

64.  No. — The  phrase  "  whether  or  no  "  in  pure  English  should 
be  "  whether  or  not.'' 

65.  Notify. — Should  we  "  notify  "  a  meeting,  or  "  notify  "  an  au- 
dience of  a  meeting  ?  The  English  and  American  usages  differ. 
The  English  adopt  the  first ;  and  the  American,  the  second.  The 
English  follow  the  original  Latin  etymology,  deriving  the  word  from 
notifico.  The  Americans  follow  the  secondary  derivation  of  the 
word,  from  the  French  notifier.  The  English  form  is  the  better  of 
the  two ;  that  is,  it  is  in  closer  affinity  with  the  structure  of  the  lan- 
guage. To  "  notify,"  by  the  analogy  of  other  words  of  similar 
termination,  should  signify,  "to  make  a  thing  known."  Therefore 
we  should  notify  the  meeting,  not  the  audience. 

66.  Obligate  for  Oblige. — Richardson's  Dictionary  says  that 
this  word  "is  the  more  common  among  the  common  people." 
Smart's  Dictionary  says  that  it  "  is  never  heard  among  those  who 
conform  to  the  usage  of  the  upper  classes."     The  "  British  Critic" 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE  239 

says,  "  It  is  a  low,  colloquial  inaccuracy."  Dr.  Worcester  says,  "  It 
is  much  used  in  the  United  States."  Webster  admits  it  without  ob- 
jection. The  history  of  the  word  is  indicated  in  this  succession  of 
authorities.  Doubtless  it  was  formerly  a  barbarism,  but  has  been 
growing  toward,  if  not  into,  good  use.  Some  critics  contend  that 
the  derivation  of  it  from  the  unexceptionable  word  "  obligation  " 
should  settle  the  question.  But  a  speaker  in  the  American  Congress 
once  declared,  "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  hurl  the  allegation  back  with  scorn 
upon  the  head  of  the  allegator."  Did  the  correctness  of  one  word 
here  follow  as  a  necessity  from  the  accuracy  of  the  other  ?  English 
usage  has  no  law  for  coining  as  a  thing  of  course  one  word  from 
another  closely  resembling  it.  Every  word  stands  on  its  own  merits  ; 
yet  not  always  on  its  merits,  but  on  the  sheer  will,  even  the  caprice, 
of  the  national  mind. 

67.  Onto  is  a  vulgarism.  The  two  prepositions  "  on  "  and  "  to  " 
may  occur  consecutively,  but  the  combination  is  often  used  where 
the  second  preposition  is  useless.  "  He  fell  onto  the  rocks."  "  Upon  " 
would  be  the  better  form. 

68.  Open  up  is  a  phrase  recognized  as  idiomatic  English  by  lexi- 
cographers, but  meaningless  in  its  structure,  and  not  used  by  the 
best  authors.  Why  "  up,"  rather  than  "  down  "  or  "  out  "  ?  A 
good  general  rule  in  composition  is  to  check  one's  pen  in  the  writing 
of  any  phrase  which  seems  to  be  redundant,  or  without  obvious  sense. 

69.  Ought. — -It  should  not  be,  but  it  is,  necessary  to  caution  even 
graduates  of  American  colleges  against  the  use  of  vulgar  inflections 
of  this  word ;  such  as,  "  hadn't  ought,"  etc. 

70.  Plead,  used  as  a  preterite  form  for  "  pleaded,"  is  a  corruption 
of  long  standing  in  the  language  ;  is  found  in  Spenser's  "  Faerie 
Queene,"  but  is  almost  universally  avoided  by  scholars. 

71.  Plenty,  used  as  an  adjective  for  "  plentiful." — Dr.  Webster 
is  almost  alone  among  lexicographers  in  admitting  this.  Shake- 
speare, however,  employs  it :  "  If  reasons  were  plenty  as  black- 
berries, I  would  give  no  man  a  reason  on  compulsion."  But  good 
use  is  generally  averse  to  it  at  present. 

72.  Predicate  in  the  sense  of  "  found  "  is  an  Americanism,  con- 
fined chiefly  to  the  usage  of  the  bar,  as  when  an  advocate  says,  "  I 
predicate  my  client's  claims  upon  admitted  facts  ;  "  meaning,  "  I 
found,"  etc.  This  is  entirely  opposed  to  the  classic  English  use. 
"  Predicate  "  means  "  to  assert,"  nothing  else. 


240        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

73.  Profanity  and  Profaneness. — Which  ?  Usage  is  not  uni- 
form. The  latter  form  is  in  closer  analogy  than  the  former  with  the 
structure  of  the  English  language.  Professor  Park  says,  that,  if  one 
says  "  profanity,"  one  7>iay  be  supported  by  good  usage,  but  that,  if 
one  says  "  profaneness,"  one  is  sure  to  be  thus  supported  ;  that  is, 
the  first  of  these  forms  is  of  doubtful  authority. 

74.  Professor,  used  as  the  synonym  of  "  communicant  "  in  the 
church,  is  an  impropriety  limited  to  the  dialect  of  the  pulpit  and  to 
that  of  those  who  take  their  habits  of  speech  from  it.  It  is  never  used 
by  secular  authors  of  any  rank. 

75.  Progress,  employed  as  a  verb  intransitive,  should  be  marked 
as  doubtful.  Dr.  Worcester  says  that  the  majority  of  authors  of  the 
first  class  avoid  it.  Critics  commonly  condemn  it  as  an  Americanism, 
but  it  is  not  such.  It  is  found  in  the  elder  English  authors,  and 
probably  was  in  good  repute  two  centuries  ago.  Shakespeare,  in  King 
Lear,  says,  "  Let  me  wipe  off  this  honorable  dew,  that  silverly  doth 
progress  on  thy  cheeks."  The  pronunciation  of  the  word  in  Shake- 
speare's time  probably  accented  the  first  syllable.  If  so,  the  word 
was  one  of  those  forms  in  which  the  verb  and  the  noun  are  distin- 
guished by  difference  of  accent ;  as  in  the  words  "  twzduct "  and 
"  conduct." 

76.  Quite  in  the  sense  of  "  very  "  is  not  good  English  ;  as  in  the 
expression  "  quite  recently,"  or  "  the  discourse  was  quite  long."  The 
true  meaning  of  "  quite  "  is  "  entirely." 

77.  Raise  is  improperly  employed  in  two  American  provincialisms, 
one  used  in  the  Southern  States,  and  the  other  in  the  Northern. 
Southern  usage  says,  "  He  was  raised  in  Alabama  ;  "  "  raise  "  being 
used  in  the  sense  of  "  to  bring  up."  Northern  usage  says,  "  They 
raised  a  committee ;  "  "  raise  "  being  used  in  the  sense  of  "  to  ap- 
point."    Classic  English  admits  neither. 

78.  Rather,  in  the  phrase  "  I  had  rather,"  should  be  preceded  by 
"would"  instead  of  "had."  "Rather"  expresses  a  preference. 
"  Had  rather  "  is  probably  a  corruption  of  the  phrase  "  had  better," 
which  is  a  pure  English  idiom.  The  translators  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment into  English  committed  the  error  in  making  the  Psalmist  say, 
"  I  had  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  my  God." 

79.  Reluct  and  Reluctate  are  both  barbarisms,  though  some 
dictionaries  admit  them  on  the  authority  of  authors  of  inferior  rank. 

80.  Remorse  should  not  be  employed  to  express  only  the  sense  of 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE  24 1 

sin.  Remember  always,  in  the  use  of  this  word,  its  etymological 
meaning,  "remordeo"  "to  bite  back."  This  idea  the  word  has 
never  lost.  Remorse  is  retaliatory,  not  salutary.  It  tends  to  no  good. 
Shakespeare  says,  "  Nero  will  be  tainted  with  remorse."  Penitence 
and  hope  should  accompany  a  sense  of  sin,  then  remorse  ceases. 
The  sense  of  sin  then  becomes  remedial,  as  distinct  from  retributive. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  John  Randolph,  when  on  his  death-bed  he 
could  not  speak,  but  wrote  on  a  card  the  word  "  remorse,"  meant  any- 
thing more  than  that  he  felt  himself  to  be  a  great  sinner. 

81.  Remove,  in  the  phrase  "an  infinite  remove,"  is  erroneous. 
Usage  limits  the  use  of  the  word  in  such  connections  to  a  small  dis- 
tance. Addison  says,  "  A  freeholder  is  but  one  remove  from  a  legis- 
lator." 

82.  Retrospect  used  as  a  verb.— It  is  admitted  by  some  lexicog- 
raphers, but  rarely  acknowledged  by  good  writers. 

83.  Sang,  Spake,  Sprang,  have,  for  the  most  part,  yielded  to  the 
more  modern  forms,  "  sung,"  "  spoke,"  "  sprung."  These  double 
forms  originally  expressed  different  numbers  of  the  tense.  "  Sang  " 
was  the  singular  ;  and  "  sung  "  the  plural.  The  disappearance  of  this 
distinction  leaves  no  occasion  for  the  retention  of  both  forms,  and 
the  old  singular  forms  are  obsolescent. 

84.  Save  for  Except  is  obsolete,  except  in  poetry  and  in  biblical 
quotation. 

85.  Scripturality  is  not  used  by  authors  of  the  first  class. 
Yet  we  have  no  one  word  to  take  its  place. 

86.  Selfsame  is  obsolescent,  and  was  never  in  classic  use. 
"  Same  "  expresses  the  whole  idea. 

87.  Shall  and  Will  are  improperly  interchanged.  In  Ireland, 
"  will  "  is  frequently  employed  for  "  shall ;  "  and  in  Scotland  the  re- 
verse is  common.  In  the  Southern  and  some  of  the  Western  States 
of  this  country,  the  Irish  error  is  frequent.  "  I  will  need  the  means 
of  going,"  says  a  native  of  Virginia.  The  structure  of  our  language 
tempts  one  to  this  error.  In  declension  we  are  taught  to  say,  "  I 
will,  you  shall,  he  shall ;  "  but  we  reverse  the  forms,  and  say,  "  I 
shall,  you  will,  he  will."  It  is  out  of  this  irregularity  of  declension, 
probably,  that  the  error  has  arisen. 

Worcester's  Unabridged  Dictionary  and  Webster's  International 
Dictionary  should  be  consulted  for  further  consideration  of  shall  and 
will. 


242         RHETORIC,   ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

88.  Shew  for  Shewed,  and  pronounced  as  if  it  were  "  shue," 
is  a  singular  corruption,  often  heard  in  the  city  of  Boston  among 
some  who  call  themselves  people  of  culture.  "  He  shew  me  how  to 
do  it." 

89.  Shortcomings  is  authorized  by  the  dictionaries,  but  when 
you  are  tempted  to  use  it,  remember  that  "  Cummings  "  is  a  not 
uncommon  family  name  in  New  England,  and  that  those  who  bear 
it  differ  in  stature.  De  Ouincey  condemns  the  word  as  a  Scotticism. 
He  says  that  it  is  "  horridly  tabernacular,"  that  "  no  gentleman 
would  touch  it  without  gloves." 

90.  Sidehill  should  give  place  to  the  more  classic  form  "  hill- 
side." 

91.  Some  is  improperly  used  for  "  somewhat."  "Is  the  patient 
better  ?  " — "  Some  better."     "  Does  it  rain  ?  " — "  Yes,  some." 

92.  Solemnize,  in  the  sense  of  "  to  make  solemn." — "  Solemnize 
our  minds  "  is  often  heard  in  extemporaneous  prayer.  This  and  the 
word  "  shortcomings  "  are  the  potent  arguments  for  a  Liturgy.  "  Sol- 
emnize," however,  is  not  a  barbarism  :  it  is  a  good  and  ancient 
English  word.  It  means  "  to  celebrate  a  religious  ceremony." 
We  properly  speak  of  "  solemnizing  "  a  marriage.  In  Shakespeare's 
time,  even  the  word  "  solemn  "  was  employed  in  similar  connec- 
tions, but  without  any  necessary  idea  of  seriousness.  It  was  em- 
ployed in  reference  to  any  important  ceremony.  Macbeth,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  coronation,  says,  "  To-night  we  hold  a  solemn  sup- 
per ;  "  that  is,  "  a  festival  of  inauguration."  From  such  a  history 
the  word  "  solemnize  "  has  grown. 

93.  Soul. — This  word  has  in  Webster's  Dictionary  no  less  than 
thirty-five  compounds,  of  which  not  more  than  three  can  be  said  to 
be  in  classic  use.  All  the  rest  are  a  burden  of  barbarism  upon  the 
force  of  the  language. 

94.  Spiritual-Mindedness. — "  A  spiritual  mind  "  expresses  the 
whole  idea,  and  is  a  form  which  would  not  repel  a  scholarly  taste. 

95.  Station  vs.  Depot.  —  Which?  By  authority  of  usage, 
both  ;  but  by  that  of  good  taste,  "  station  "  is  the  purer  English.  It 
is  English  in  its  structure,  and  is  generally  used  in  England. 
"  Depot  "  is  of  French  origin  ;  and,  in  the  American  use  of  it,  it  is 
diverted  from  its  French  signification,  which  is  "  a  depository  for 
freight."  If  we  follow  the  French,  why  not  do  so  in  pronunciation 
of  the  word  ?     Our  language  would  be  improved  by  the  adoption  of 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYIE  243 

both  words,  retaining  severally  the  English  and  the  French  significa- 
tions. Let  passengers  be  deposited  at  a  "station,"  and  freight  at  a 
"  depot." 

96.  Stricken  for  Struck  is  an  impropriety,  except  in  the  usage 
of  legislative  bodies.  A  clause  is  spoken  of  as  "  stricken  "  from  a 
legislative  bill.  In  other  connections  the  word  is  the  synonym  of 
"  afflicted." 

97.  Sundown  should  give  way  to  the  more  classic  form  "  sunset." 
Even  the  common  people  of  England  piefer  the  latter  form. 

98.  Systemize. — One  of  the  few  cases  in  which  usage  has  tri- 
umphed over  the  Saxon  love  of  brevity  in  the  growth  of  our  lan- 
guage is,  that  we  must  say,  not  "  systemize,"  but  "  systematize." 

99.  Talent  vs.  Talents. — Which?  Both,  but  not  as  syno- 
nyms. "  Talent  "  should  not  be  employed  collectively.  We  may  not 
say,  "  a  man  of  talent,"  but  "  of  talents." 

100.  Temper  for  Anger. — The  proper  English  sense  of  the  word 
"temper"  is  just  the  opposite  of  anger.  It  contains  the  same  idea 
which  is  in  its  derivative  "  temperate."  It  means  moderation  or 
self-possession.  Pope  writes,  "  teach  me  ...  to  fall  with  dignity, 
with  temper  rise." 

101.  Thanks!  for  the  phrase  / thank  you,  is  an  exclamation  in 
colloquial  use,  of  recent  origin.  It  is  criticised  by  a  respectable 
class  of  conservators  of  good  English.  Yet  it  is  a  curious  fact  that 
the  innovation  is  practised  chiefly  by  those  who  profess  to  be  men 
and  women  of  culture.  Rarely  do  we  hear  it  from  the  lips  of  the 
common  people.  It  is  an  affectation  originated  by  somebody  who 
mistook  eccentricity  for  smartness.  It  is,  however,  one  of  those  af- 
fectations of  urban  society  which  the  sturdy  good  sense  of  the  people 
will  reject.  Already  protests  against  it  begin  to  be  heard.  It  is 
said  that  one  of  the  most  eminent  groups  of  literary  men  in  this 
country  has  agreed  to  avoid  it  in  the  interest  of  Saxon  purity  of  col- 
loquial English.  Tennyson,  if  report  speaks  truly,  reproved  it  in  one 
of  his  own  guests  by  responding  to  it,  "  Thanks,  yes,  or  Thanks, 
no  ? — which  is  it  ?  " 

It  is  a  safe  general  rule,  never  to  adopt  the  colloquial  novelties 
which  the  society  of  cities  originates,  on  such  authority  alone.  Met- 
ropolitan taste,  as  such,  nowhere  represents  either  the  most,  accom- 
plished scholarship  or  the  soundest  good  sense  in  the  use  of  language. 
If  the  backwoods  and  the  low  grounds  of  society  corrupt  the  language 


244        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

in  their  speech,  the  ruling  classes  of  great  cities  do  the  same,  with 
less  excuse  for  their  error.  The  impure  English  originated  by  them 
would  make  a  small  dictionary  by  itself.  The  multitude  of  the  great 
middle  classes  in  the  social  scale,  as  a  rule,  speak  purer  English  than 
either  extreme. 

102.  Then  should  not  be  used  adjectively.  Edmund  Burke,  who 
does  not  often  fall  into  errors  of  style,  speaks  of  himself  as  being 
"  unknown  to  the  then  ministry."  Had  he  said  "  the  then  existing 
ministry,"  he  would  have  used  good  English. 

103.  This  or  That  for  Thus. — "  This  much,"  "  that  much,"  are 
modern  corruptions.     They  have  no  hold  upon  good  authority. 

104.  Transpire. — What  is  its  meaning?  To  "happen,"  or  to 
"  become  known  "?  The  latter  surely  :  it  has  no  other  signification 
in  good  English  use,  the  dictionaries  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 
This  is  one  of  the  cases  in  wThich  the  liberty  allowed  by  lexicogra- 
phers degenerates  into  license.  The  idea  of  this  word  is  very  accurate- 
ly given  by  the  phrase  "  to  leak  out."  "  Transpire  "  and  "  perspire  " 
are  etymologically  nearly  identical.  They  both  imply  the  passing 
out  of  something  imperceptibly.  Usage,  therefore,  has  taken  the 
word  "  transpire  "  to  express  the  coming  of  a  secret  thing  to  publicity. 
If  you  associate  these  two  words  in  your  minds,  the  one  may  assist 
you  to  remember  the  true  meaning  of  the  other.  A  New  York  jour- 
nal spoke  of  the  Mexican  War  as  "  transpiring  in  1847."  Grant 
White,  commenting  on  the  style,  observes,  that,  considering  the 
latitude  in  which  the  war  occurred,  the  writer  might  as  properly  have 
said  that  "the  war  perspired  in  1847." 

105.  Ugly,  in  the  sense  of  "  ill-natured,"  is,  for  the  most  part, 
found  only  in  this  country.  The  English  sense  of  the  word  is  "  dis- 
agreeable in  personal  appearance."  In  pure  English  we  speak  of  an 
ugly  countenance,  not  of  an  ugly  disposition. 

106.  Unbeknown  is  a  vulgarism.  We  have  no  such  word  in  the 
language. 

107.  UN. — Let  this  prefix  be  noted  for  the  sake  of  observing  that 
one  of  our  standard  dictionaries  admits  nearly  three  hundred  words  of 
compound  structure  of  which  this  is  the  initial  syllable ;  yet  scarcely 
more  than  one-half  of  these  are  probably  extant  in  the  writings  of 
eminent  English  authors,  unless  they  are  employed,  as  so  many 
compounds  were  in  the  Greek  literature,  for  comic  purposes. 

108.  Unwisdom  and  Unreason  are  examples  of  compounds,  not 


EXERCISES  IN  PURITY  OF  STYLE  245 

good  English.  The  style  of  some  writers  and  speakers  seems  to  be 
constructed  on  the  theory  that  any  word  which  is  pure  English  may 
give  birth  to  its  opposite  by  prefixing  the  negative  prefix  "  un." 

109.  Variate  is  corrupt  English  for  "  vary."  In  New  England 
may  be  sometimes  heard  in  prayer  the  petition,  "  Do  thou  variate 
thy  mercies,"  etc. 

no.  Was  for  Were. — Many  cultivated  men  and  women  have  not 
learned  the  simple  law  of  grammar  which  forbids  the  phrase  "  You 
was,"  and  the  interrogative,  "  Was  you  ?  " 

in.  Were  for  Was  is  a  still  more  inexcusable  corruption,  because 
it  is  commonly  an  affectation.  People  whose  aspirations  after  the 
name  of  culture  exceed  their  acquisitions,  often  have  a  hazy  idea  that 
something  is  wrong  in  certain  uses  of  the  word  "  was,"  and  that 
"  were  "  is  at  any  rate  more  literary.  Therefore  one  says  "  When 
I  were  in  New  York  ;  "  and  another  responds,  "  I  were  in  Europe 
then."  Probably  the  error  has  grown  out  of  a  confusion  of  the  in- 
dicative with  the  subjunctive  mood.  Because  it  is  often  wrong  to 
say,  "  If  I  was,"  some  adopt  "  I  were  "  for  the  indicative,  when  they 
strain  to  be  very  accurate.  When  they  think  nothing  about  their 
style,  they  probably  talk  good  English,  and  say,  "  I  was." 

By  the  directions  of  the  older  grammarians  we  were  required  to 
say,  "  if  I  were,  if  he  were,"  etc.,  wherever  the  subjunctive  was  used ; 
that  is,  the  "  past  tense  "  of  the  subjunctive  was  not  recognized. 
Usage  broke  over  that  rule  long  before  the  grammarians  saw  the 
necessity  for  doing  so. 

112.  Whole  for  All  is  a  very  frequent  corruption  in  the  writing 
of  Alison  the  historian.  He  speaks  of  "  the  whole  citizens  of  the 
State."  How  many  fragments  of  citizens  were  there  ?  Alison's 
History  is  a  splendid  thesaurus  of  illustrations  of  bad  English. 

Apply  the  criticisms  of  Professor  Phelps  to  the  following 
sentences. 

1 .  I  should  admire  to  be  present  when  the  prizes  are  awarded. 

2.  I  calculate  that  you  are  right. 

3.  The  body  was  exhumated. 

4.  We  hope  his  recovery. 

5.  Methinks,  I  am  again  in  the  midst  of  strife. 

6.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  but  raised  in  this  country. 

7.  We  are  to  progress  only  as  we  improve  in  character. 


246        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

8.  Full  of  temper  he  struck  him  a  fatal  blow. 

9.  I  will  be  with  you  anon,  and  tell  you  about  this  strange  event. 

10.  Did  he  conduct  properly? 

11.  It  is  a  most  extreme  application  of  the  law. 

12.  How?  I  did  not  hear  what  you  said. 

13.  He  is  a  mighty  good  scholar. 

14.  Four  monitors  were  raised  on  the  basis  of  scholarship. 

1 5.  His  shortcomings  are  as  many  now  as  formerly. 

16.  This  much  may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  motion. 

17.  The  position  should  have  a  man  of  talent. 

18.  The  go-ahead-a-tive-ness  of  the  man  you  will  admire. 

19.  In  the  fall  there  are  two  holidays. 

20.  He  has  inaugurated  a  new  play  in  the  game. 

21.  This  plan  militated  with  all  my  other  plans. 

22.  He  said  that  he  had  rather  go  home. 

23.  The  accident  came  from  coasting  on  the  side  hill. 

24.  He  was  very  ugly  because  of  the  opposition,  and  did  not  be- 
come good-natured  for  a  long  time. 

25.  It  has  been  awful  weather  for  a  month. 

26.  Has  his  declension  of  the  call  been  received. 

27.  Ought  we  to  fellowship  men  so  heretical? 

28.  All  such  enterprises  are  incident  to  great  losses. 

29.  He  has  given  himself  to  missionating. 

30.  I  greatly  reluctate  to  accept  this  responsibility. 

31.  In  one  way  he  is  some  better,  in  another  he  is  some  worse. 

32.  Was  this  unbeknown  to  you  ? 

33.  This  was  unbeknown  to  me. 

34.  I  will  deputize  him  to  act  for  me. 

35.  After  he  announced  his  firstly,  I  anticipated  his  secondly  and 
thirdly. 

36.  He  has  become  an  irreligionist. 

37.  The  news  are  bad  to-day. 

38.  He  is  a  long  remove  from  his  brother  in  ability  and  scholar- 
ship. 

39.  It  is  a  soul-inspiring  scene. 

40.  Why  will  they  follow  a  man  of  so  much  unreason  and  un- 
wisdom ? 

41.  England  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era  gave  little 
promise  of  its  future  greatness. 


EXERCISES  W  PURITY   OF  STYLE  247 

42.  When  my  room  is  fixed  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  see  it. 

43.  So  valuable  a  life  ought  not  to  be  jeopardized  in  such  a  cause. 

44.  He  is  obligated  to  do  it. 

45.  As  I  retrospect  I  feel  a  depression  of  spirits. 

46.  The    loss   of    spiritual  -  mindedness    is   soon    recognized    in 
change  of  conduct. 

47.  To  variate  our  methods  is  to  give  new  life  to  our  work. 

48.  It  will  eventuate  in  time. 

49.  I  am  satisfied  with  its  fixity. 

50.  He  would  as  lieve  be  a  private  as  an  officer. 

51.  The  observation  of  this  law  will  be  strictly  enforced. 

52.  His  rugged  health  did  not  come  wholly  from  inheritance. 

53.  Our  train  is  now  at  the  depot. 

54.  Was  you  there  ?     I  were,  but  I  did  not  see  you. 

55.  We  cannot  have  our  pay  except  we  work  for  it. 

56.  We  ought  to  give  them  the  gospel-light. 

57.  Is  he  away  for  long  ? 

58.  The  tree  blew  over  and  fell  onto  me. 

59.  While  his  bearing  was  not  good,  he  spake  well. 

60.  Mr.  B.  was  stricken  down  with  paralysis. 

61.  The  whole  of  the  pupils  did  not  attend  the  lecture. 

62.  It  must  happify  him  to  have  such  a  welcome. 

63.  I  love  peaches. 

64.  He  has  opened  up  a  suggestive  field  of  thought. 

65.  I  should  not  do  this  save  for  friendship. 

66.  To  accomplish  more  you  must  systemize  more. 

67.  A  walk  along  the  hill  at  sundown  is  always  enjoyable. 

68.  His  heavenly- mindedness  is  recognized  in  whatever  he  says 
or  does. 

69.  I  like  simplicity  and  purity. 

70.  He  knew  that  he  hadn't  ought  to  do  it. 

71.  The  selfsame  thought  came  to  me. 

72.  He  has  a  magnificent  arm. 

73.  Fruit  is  so  plenty  that  it  is  very  cheap. 

74.  It  is  the  use  of  the  right  mean  to  the  end  that  gives  success. 

75.  I  predicate  this  statement  on  facts  which  are  known  to  me. 

76.  His  book  is  full  of  interesting  memories  of  his  eventful  life. 
"jy.  It  was  quite  early  when  we  started. 


EXERCISES   IN   PRECISION   OF   STYLE* 

CHAPTERS   VII.,    VIII.,    IX.   AND  X. 

Examples  for  Correction  or  Criticism, 
errors  in  the  use  of  the  word  "  it." 

i.  It  is  a  country  whose  laws  are  made,  its  government  is  admin- 
istered, its  chief  officers  are  appointed,  and  its  revenues  are  disbursed 
by  a  foreign  state. 

2.f  Next  to  thinking  clearly  it  is  useful  to  speak  clearly  and  what- 
ever your  position  in  life  may  hereafter  be  it  cannot  be  such  as  not  to 
be  improved  by  this,  so  that  it  is  worth  while  making  almost  any 
effort  to  acquire  it,  if  it  is  not  a  natural  gift :  it  being  an  undoubted 
fact  that  the  effort  to  acquire  it  must  be  successful,  to  some  extent  at 
least,  if  it  be  moderately  persevered  in. 

3.  He  died  in  the  island  of  which  he  was  a  native,  and  had  lived 
in  it  all  his  life. 

4.  To  come  within  easy  distance  of  Rome  and  not  to  see  it — I 
could  never  forgive  myself  for  it. 

5.t  The  best  way  in  the  world  for  a  man  to  seem  to  be  anything 
is  really  to  be  what  he  would  seem  to  be.  Besides  that,  it  is  many 
times  as  troublesome  to  make  good  the  pretence  of  a  good  quality  as 
to  have  it ;  and  if  a  man  have  it  not,  it  is  ten  to  one  but  he  is  dis- 
covered to  want  it,  and  then  all  his  pains  and  labors  to  seem  to  have 
it  are  lost. 

ERRORS    IN    COMPARISON. 

6.  No  general  ever  had  so  much  devotion  shown  him  as  Napoleon. 

7.  I  know  of  no  book  that  is  so  valuable  for  the  student  as  a 
good  dictionary. 

8.  This  system  of  heating  is  the  most  economical  of  all  other 
systems. 

*  For  Exercises  in  Precision  of  Style,  without  reference  to  dictionaries  and 
other  books,  see  pages  265-274. 

t  To  correct  2  and  5  it  will  he  necessary  to  divide  and  to  recast  the  sen- 
tences. 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE  249 

9.  President  Cleveland  has  done  more  than  any  member  of  his 
party  to  accomplish  tariff  reform. 

10.  The  success  which  now  came  was  greater  than  he  had  gained 
in  the  whole  of  his  eventful  life. 

1 1 .  The  winds  at  this  point  are  the  strongest  that  are  met  at  any 
other  part  of  the  ascent. 

12.  I  know  of  nothing  so  easily  learned  as  history  when  it  is 
properly  taught. 

13.  He  was  the  very  man  of  all  others  in  our  party  who  seemed 
most  unlikely  to  fail. 

14.  In  comparing  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  we  may  say  that 
Shakespeare  was  the  greatest  dramatic  poet  and  Milton  the  greatest 
epic  poet. 

15.  This  king  was  the  only  one  of  his  predecessors  who  had  from 
first  to  last  a  peaceful  reign. 

16.  To  William  Ewart  Gladstone  who  has  just  withdrawn  from 
public  life  England  owes  more  than  to  any  living  man. 

17.  The  task  was  the  most  difficult  that  I  ever  attempted  be- 
fore. 

18.  The  task  was  more  difficult  than  I  had  ever  attempted. 

19.  He  showed  the  same  spirit  in  this  last  act  as  in  every  act  of 
his  life. 

20.  No  wonder  that  we  were  so  moved  by  the  sight,  for  in  the 
whole  world  there  is  no  scene  that  can  equal  it  in  sublimity. 

ERRORS   IN   THE  USE  OF   TENSES. 

21.  I  shall  have  great  pleasure  in  accepting  your  invitation. 

22.  I  intended  to  have  spoken  to  you  about  the  matter. 

23.  He  was  proved  to  be  sentenced  for  a  serious  offence  before 
this  arraignment. 

24.  I  thought  when  I  came  to  have  visited  all  my  friends. 

25.  It  was  my  purpose  to  have  insisted  on  your  staying  with  me. 

26.  I  shall  be  happy  to  accept  your  invitation. 

ERRORS  IN  THE   USE  OF   VERBS   FROM   ELLIPSIS. 

27.  Is  it  reasonable  to  expect  that  to  happen  which  never  has  ? 

28.  But  you  will  endure  it  as  you  have  so  many  other  trials. 

29.  Lincoln  and  Garfield  knew  what  it  was  to  be  born  in  poverty 
as  almost  all  our  great  men  have. 


250        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

30.  We  often  think  that  what  is,  always  has,  and  always  will  be. 

31.  I  never  have,  and  never  will   do  for   personal  advancement 
what  my  conscience  condemns. 

32.  Missing  the  prize  as  others  have  he  like  others  opposes  the 
competitive  system. 

ERRORS   IN   THE   USE    OF  THE    SUBJUNCTIVE    MOOD. 

33.  If  the  horse  was  mine  I  would  sell  it. 

34.  Let  a  few  more  dry  summers  follow  in  succession,  and  there 
would  be  some  movement  to  protect  the  forests. 

35.  If  the  landlord  were  ready  to  pay  the  expense,  why  should 
the  tenant  object  ? 

36.  If  ever  a  man's  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  people  deserve 
recognition,  it  is  the  service  of  our  mayor. 

37.  Were  he  willing  to  do  for  himself  my  help  shall  not  be  with- 
held. 

38.  If  the  house  were  unpromising  without,  it  proved  to  be  com- 
fortable within. 

MISCELLANEOUS    ERRORS    IN   MOOD. 

39.  Can  I  ask  you  for  another  favor  ? 

40.  You  can  go  now,  as  I  promised  you. 

41.  May  I  run  faster  than  he,  do  you  think  ? 

42.  Can  I  cross  these  grounds,  or  do  you  object  ? 

43.  May  I  cross  these  grounds,  or  is  there  no  road  open  ? 

44.  If  he  was  here  he  would  put  matters  right. 

45.  When  the  weather  be  favorable,  when  the  roads  are  good, 
such  a  trip  is  always  enjoyable. 

46.  It  ought  to  make  a  man  miserable,  if   he   have,   ruined  his 
friend. 

47.  Life  would  lose  its  interest  for  most  men  so  soon  as  Mr. 
Bellamy's  scheme  shall  be  put  in  operation. 

48.  If  his  brother  were  willing  to  let  him  have  the  property,  why 
should  he  refuse  it  ? 

49.  Were  it  as  you  say,  and  we  were  to  blame,  would  there  be 
an  excuse  for  such  cruel  treatment. 

50.  Let  a  few  more  games  be  lost  and  the  spirit  of  the  college 
would  be  no  longer  enthusiastic. 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION   OF  STYLE  25  I 


ERRORS   IN   THE   USE   OF   CONNECTIVES. 

51.  Do  not  come  except  you  find  it  convenient. 

52.  An  upright,  earnest  man  like  his  father  was  before  him. 

53.  The  Chinese,  he  said,  would  never  become  good  American 
citizens,  and  that  they  did  not  wish  to  remain  in  this  country. 

54.  Directly  the  game  began,  the  shouting  became  so  loud  as  to 
be  deafening. 

55.  There  is  no  other  friendship  so  helpful  than  that  of  an  older, 
wiser  person. 

56.  It  is  as  high  or  higher  than  this  mountain. 

57.  What  man  has  labored  more  earnestly  or  so  ceaselessly  for 
the  cause  as  he  ? 

58.  I  prefer  not  to  have  your  help  without  you  wish  to  give  it. 

59.  Fatal  injuries  seldom  or  ever  occur  in  the  game. 

60.  I  had  scarcely  reached  the  platform  than  I  was  called  on  for 
a  speech. 

61.  Hardly  had  that  disease  left  me  than  this  attacked  me. 

62.  I  have  at  present  no  means  to  help  you  than  that  of  my  rec- 
ommendation. 

63.  This  example  is  of  all  others  the  most  convincing. 

64.  This  musician  has  done  more  for  his  art  than  any  musician 
of  this  age. 

65.  I  have  a  watch  and  which  I  highly  value  because  it  was  my 
grandfather's. 

66.  We  are  in  a  time  of  financial  depression  and  in  which  many 
changes  of  fortune  are  seen. 

67.  Such  is  the  spirit  of  the  man,  and  which  may  be  seen  in  his 
writings,  as  it  has  been  manifested  in  his  life. 

ERRORS   IN    THE    USE    OF    SYNONYMS   AND    OF   WORDS    SIMILAR 

IN   ORTHOGRAPHY. 

68.  His  grateful  acceptation  of  the  gift  pleased  the  congregation. 

69.  She  gained  accession  to  the  home  by  bribing  an  old  servant. 

70.  She  showed  her  oriental  tastes  in  her  barbarous  ornaments. 

71.  His  actions  of  late  have  been  much  criticised. 

72.  He  captivated  the  book  after  a  struggle. 


252        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

73.  Thackeray  has  represented  Colonel  Newcome  as  a  childish 
character. 

74.  He  is  a  ceremonial  man. 

75.  He  held  a  deathly  weapon. 

76.  He  was  distinctively  heard. 

77.  Some  favored  his  continuity  in  the  office. 

78.  He  is  a  man  of  such  equitable  temper  that  he  is  rarely  moved 

to  anger. 

79.  I  depreciate  this  bad  feeling  and  hope  that  it  is  only  tempo- 
rary. 

80.  It  is  a  kind  of  amusement  that  weakens  character  and  makes 

it  feminine. 

8 1 .  The  last  letter  from  him  came  yesterday. 

82.  He  has  prepared  a  monogram  of  several  pages. 

83.  As  he  has  politic  ambitions  he  will  not  offend  the  party. 

84.  When  she  paid  for  the  goods  she  asked  for  a  recipe. 

85.  He  did  not  act  from  principal  which  ought  to  be  the  prin- 
ciple motive. 

86.  Her  rendition  of  the  poem  was  warmly  applauded. 

87.  I  suspect  that  he  will  come  on  the  evening  train. 

88.  The  new  friendship  was  a  stimulation  to  better  work. 

89.  My  visitant  proved  to  be  a  book-agent. 

90.  The  author  is  still  extant. 

91.  The  enormousness  of  the  crime  calls  for  the  severest  punish- 
ment. 

92.  An  antiquated  castle. 

93.  Although  poor  he  is  a  man  of  large  beneficence. 

94.  The  argument  established  positively  the  prisoner's  guilt. 

95.  His  avocation  had  demanded  all  his  time  and  strength  for 

many  years. 

96.  He  showed  greediness  of  learning  and  avidity  of  wealth. 

97.  His  character  has  been  injured  by  these  false  reports  of  his 

habits. 

98.  Compare  them  and  see  in  what  they  differ. 

99.  The  house  is  complete  but  not  perfect. 

100.  His  arrant  tendencies  have  made  him  a  great  traveller. 

101.  He  could  not  co?ifutc  all  the  personal  accusations. 

102.  Ought  corporeal  punishment  to  be  allowed  in  our  schools? 

103.  What  did  the  merchant  say  is  the  cost  of  the  article  ? 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE  253 

104.  The  sentence  for  his  sin  is  imprisonment  for  life. 

105.  The  decay  of  the  empire. 

106.  The  statue  is  defaced  by  the  loss  of  an  arm. 

107.  His  love  of  circumlocution  and  detail  makes  him  a  diffuse 
writer. 

108.  This  peasant  girl  has  the  elegance  of  a  princess. 

109.  Much  of  his  evidence  did  not  seem  to  have  any  connection 
with  the  case. 

1 10.  She  exceeds  her  sister  in  music. 

in.  We  must  check  the  luxuriance  of  the  foliage  or  it  will  shut 
out  the  view. 

112.  You  will  succeed  him  in  the  procession. 

113.  The  blaze  of  the  candle  was  unsteady. 

114.  This  despot  governed  for  many  years. 

1 1 5.  I  saw  his  imminent  danger  and  warned  him  in  time  for  his 
escape. 

116.  His  fierce  temper  is  inherent. 

1 17.  He  will  learn  his  brother  how  to  swim. 

118.  His  uncles  were  all  notorious  preachers. 

119.  As  he  could  not  write  he  gave  me  a  verbal  report. 

1 20.  Send  him  a  verbal  answer  by  the  messenger. 

121.  As  this  is  to  be  a  verbal  exercise,  you  will  not  need  materials 
for  writing. 

122.  The  commoji  course  of  nature. 

123.  The  appearance  of  things  was  plausible. 

124.  His  speech  had  a  specious  tone  but  it  did  not  deceive. 

125.  Is  it  true  that  whatever  is  possible  is  practicable? 

1 26.  Because  it  is  right  he  should  do  it. 

127.  This  fine  product  of  art. 

128.  He  is  a,  prudential  man. 

129.  It  is  a  charming  rustic  scene. 

1 30.  My  safety  is  such  that  I  am  without  even  apprehension  of 
danger. 

131.  In  our  accidental  business  every  day,  I  had  an  opportunity 
to  judge  the  man. 

132.  The  painter  of  these  signs  is  a  worthy  artist. 

133.  He  has  for  many  years  been  addicted  to  the  crime  of  intem- 
perance. 

134.  Galileo  discovered the  telescope. 


254        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

135.  Newton  invented  the  law  of  gravitation. 

136.  This  was  the  decided  battle  which  closed  the  campaign. 

137.  The  physician  exposes  himself  as  he  comes  in  contact  with 
persons  having  infectious  diseases. 

138.  He  thinks  that  he  deceives  us  with  his  ambiguous  statements. 

1 39.  The  emigrants  who  arrived  this  week  were  all  in  good  con- 
dition. 

140.  He  has  my  high  estimation  for  his  moral  worth. 

141.  I  guess  I'll  see  the  game  this  afternoon. 

142.  He  fractured  a.  blood-vessel. 

143.  He  has  an  odium  toward  me. 

144.  Men  are  subject  to  mistakes  in  political  matters. 

145.  I  enjoyed  his  ridiculous  speech  and  laughed  at  it  heartily. 

146.  He  has  an  easy  native  manner. 

147.  The  sewerage  for  a  year  has  been  sold  to  a  contractor. 

148.  They  gave  the  Chautauqua  salutation. 

143.  The  robber  who  stole  my  coat  from  the  hall  has  been  detected. 

1 50.  A  voluntary  burst  of  enthusiasm. 

151.  This  union  of  feeling  promises  well. 

152.  A  tall  building. 

153.  He  is  qualified  by  natural  gifts  for  the  position. 

154.  He  swallowed  the  venom. 

155.  An  officious  man  questioned  me  about  my  personal  matters 
and  my  private  affairs. 

156.  His  depravation  is  sad  for  one  so  young. 

157.  These  two  great  men  were  coeval. 

158.  His  adhesion  to  his  high  purpose  is  admirable. 

1 59.  The  meaning  is  so  apparent  as  to  require  no  study. 

160.  His  appetite  for  drink  is   imperative. 

161.  His  manner  is  noxious. 

162.  No  matter  how  unpopular  he  is  his  vanity  sustains  him. 

163.  Good  men  ought  to  have  sympathy  with  this  criminal. 

BLUNDERS    IN    CONSTRUCTION. 

The  following  examples  are  taken  from  Hodgson's  "  Er- 
rors in  the  Use  of  English." 

164.  "  One  of  the  combatants  was  unhurt,  and  the  other  sustained 
a  wound  in  the  arm  of  no  importance." 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE  255 

165.  "  A  piano  for  sale  by  a  lady  about  to  cross  the  Channel  in  an 
oak  case  with  carved  legs." 

166.  "  The  Moor  seizing  a  bolster,  full  of  rage  and  jealousy, 
smothers  her." 

167.  "  The  Board  of  Education  has  resolved  to  erect  a  building 
large  enough  to  accommodate  500  students  three  stories  high." 

168.  "  A  clever  magistrate  would  see  whether  a  witness  was 
deliberately  lying  a  great  deal  better  than  a  stupid  jury." 

169.  "  Sir  Morton  Peto  spoke  of  the  notion  that  the  national  debt 
might  be  repudiated  with  absolute  contempt." 

170.  "  They  followed  the  advance  of  the  courageous  party,  step  by 
step,  through  telescopes." 

Synonyms   to   be   Prepared   from   Worcester's   Un- 
abridged Dictionary. 

The  synonyms  in  these  lists  from  Worcester's  Unabridged 
Dictionary  and  Webster's  International  Dictionary  are  the 
words  between  which  there  is  most  often  failure  to  discrim- 
inate with  precision.  It  is  expected  that  the  preparation  of 
these  synonyms  for  oral  or  written  examination  will  be  an 
important  part  of  the  study  of  rhetoric.  If  so,  the  gain 
will  be  not  simply  in  precision  ;  for  let  pains  be  taken  to 
express  the  differences  between  the  words  in  pointed,  anti- 
thetic clauses  or  sentences  as  far  as  possible,  and  the  exer- 
cise will  be  also  a  valuable  training  in  energy  of  style.  In 
fact,  there  is  no  other  exercise  in  words  more  profitable  as 
a  means  of  logical  and  rhetorical  training  than  the  study  of 
synonyms.  It  is,  therefore,  suggested  that  the  student 
carefully  prepare  a  number  of  synonyms  from  the  dictiona- 
ries, or  from  the  works  of  Soule,  Smith,  or  Crabb,  for  each 
exercise. 

Abstinence  and  temperance. 

Acquire  "  obtain. 

Adjacent  "  adjoining. 

Alarm  "  apprehension. 

AU_  "  every. 


256        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Alone 

Alter 

Amuse 

Answer 

Argument 

Argumentation 

Authentic 

Avocation 

Avidity 

Behavior 

Benevolence 

Brothers 

Candid 

Careful 

Cause 

Celebrate 

Celebration 

Certain 

Chance 

Character 

Cheerfulness 

Circumstance 

Clearness 

Coast 

Coerced 

Commission 

Compare 

Complete 

Compunction 

Confute 

Conquer 

Contemplate 

Contemptible 

Continual 

Continuation 

Conviction 

Corporal 

Cost 

Countenance 


and 


only. 

change. 

divert. 

reply. 

proof. 

reasoning. 

genuine. 

vocation. 

greediness. 

conduct. 

beneficence. 

brethren. 

frank. 

cautious. 

reason. 

commemorate. 

celebrity. 

sure. 

accident. 

reputation. 

mirth. 

fact. 

perspicuity. 

shore. 

restrained. 

authorize. 

contrast. 

perfect. 

remorse. 

refute. 

subdue. 

meditate. 

despicable. 

perpetual. 

continuance. 

persuasion. 

corporeal. 

price. 

face. 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE 


257 


Courage 

and 

fortitude. 

Crime 

«( 

sin. 

Criminal 

a 

guilty. 

Criterion 

« 

standard. 

Darkness 

« 

obscurity. 

Decay 

11 

decline. 

Deceive 

11 

impose. 

Deception 

11 

deceit. 

Dedicate 

11 

consecrate. 

Deed 

it 

act. 

Defection 

<< 

revolt. 

Defective 

11 

deficient. 

Definition 

ii 

explanation. 

Delivered 

<< 

saved. 

Deny 

11 

refuse. 

Desperate 

u 

hopeless. 

Diffuse 

II 

prolix. 

Disclaim 

II 

disowned. 

Dismiss 

>< 

discharge. 

Dispense 

II 

distribute. 

Disregard 

II 

slight. 

Distinction 

<< 

difference. 

Distinguish 

u 

discriminate. 

Divide 

ii 

separate. 

Doctrine 

II 

dogma. 

Doubt 

II 

hesitation. 

Duty 

II 

obligation. 

Earth 

ii 

world. 

Eat 

ii 

feed. 

Edifice 

ii 

structure. 

Effect 

ii 

consequence 

Elegance 

tl 

grace. 

Elocution 

ii 

eloquence. 

Emphasis 

ii 

stress. 

Enemy 

ii 

foe. 

Enough 

ii 

sufficient. 

Epithet 

ii 

adjective. 

Ethnography 

it 

ethnology. 

Evidence 

li 

testimony. 

17 

258        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Example 

and 

pattern. 

Exceed 

(t 

excel. 

Excellence 

« 

superiority. 

Excite 

it 

incite. 

Exist 

ft 

live. 

Expedient 

c< 

resource. 

Expostulate 

it 

remonstrate. 

Exuberant 

it 

luxuriant. 

Famous 

it 

celebrated. 

Fatigue 

if 

weariness. 

Feign 

tt 

pretend. 

Firm 

tt 

fixed. 

Flame 

H 

blaze. 

Flourish 

ft 

thrive. 

Follow 

ff 

succeed. 

Foretell 

ff 

predict. 

Formal 

ff 

ceremonious, 

Foundation 

it 

basis. 

General 

it 

universal. 

Genteel 

11 

polite. 

Gift 

•  i 

present. 

Glory 

11 

honor. 

Good 

It 

benefit. 

Govern 

11 

rule. 

Happiness 

11 

felicity. 

Help 

11 

assist. 

Heretic 

11 

dissenter. 

Hinder 

it 

prevent. 

Human 

It 

humane. 

Ideal 

tt 

idea. 

Imminent 

It 

impending. 

Impediment 

tt 

obstruction. 

Impervious 

tt 

impassable. 

Incapable 

it 

incompetent. 

Inconsistent 

ft 

incompatible 

Increase 

ft 

addition. 

Inherent 

ft 

innate. 

Insinuate 

ft 

ingratiate. 

Intercede 

it 

interpose. 

EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE 


259 


Invidious 

and 

envious. 

Knowledge 

ft 

science. 

Lack 

tt 

need. 

Learn 

ff 

teach. 

Literature 

ff 

learning. 

Little 

ff 

small. 

Malicious 

tt 

malevolent, 

Nautical 

ft 

naval. 

Novel 

ff 

new. 

Notorious 

ff 

noted. 

Opposite 

ft 

contrary. 

Oral 

tt 

verbal. 

Ordinary 

tt 

common. 

Orthodox 

It 

evangelical 

Ought 

ft 

should. 

Particular 

ft 

peculiar. 

Penetrate 

ft 

pierce. 

Perceive 

tf 

see. 

Plausible 

ft 

specious. 

Polite 

tt 

civil. 

Possible 

tt 

practicable. 

Poverty- 

tt 

pauperism. 

Prayer 

tt 

petition. 

Principle 

tt 

motive. 

Priority 

tt 

precedence. 

Production 

ft 

product. 

Proposition 

tt 

proposal. 

Prudent 

ft 

prudential. 

Refuse 

ft 

decline. 

Relation 

ft 

relative. 

Respect 

if 

regard. 

Restrain 

ft 

restrict. 

Rural 

ft 

rustic. 

Safety 

ft 

security. 

Science 

it 

art. 

Seem 

ff 

appear. 

Sensation 

ft 

perception. 

Sensible 

ff 

sensitive. 

Site 

ft 

situation. 

260        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Shade 

Social 

Slander 

Special 

Strength 

Thankfulness 

Thoughtful 

Timeserver 

Tolerate 

Unavoidable 

Variation 

Visitor 

Wakeful 

Whiten 

Wisdom 

Wit 


and 


shadow. 

sociable. 

calumny. 

particular. 

force. 

gratitude. 

considerate. 

temporizer. 

permit. 

inevitable. 

variety. 

guest. 

watchful. 

blanch. 

prudence. 

humor. 


Synonyms  to  be  Prepared  from  Webster's  Interna- 
tional Dictionary. 


Abdicate 

Ability 

Absolve 

Absurd 

Abuse 

Accidental 

Accomplish 

Accordingly 

Acquaintance 

Admonition 

Advantage 

Allegiance 

Also 

Amazed 

Animosity 

Announce 

Antagonist 

Anticipate 

Argue 


and 


reign. 

capacity. 

acquit. 

preposterous. 

invective. 

incidental. 

achieve. 

consequently. 

intimacy. 

reproof. 

benefit. 

loyalty. 

likewise. 

astonished. 

enmity. 

publish. 

opponent. 

expect. 

debate. 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE 


26l 


Artist 

and 

artisan. 

Bashfulness 

<( 

shyness. 

Be 

«< 

exist. 

Beg 

>t 

ask. 

But 

II 

however. 

Cabal 

II 

faction. 

Care 

ft 

anxiety. 

Choose 

II 

prefer. 

Commit 

II 

consign. 

Contagious 

II 

infectious. 

Contemptuous 

11 

contemptible 

Contest 

tt 

conflict. 

Convene 

tt 

convoke 

Courage 

It 

bravery. 

Crime 

u 

vice. 

Decorum 

II 

dignity. 

Decrease 

It 

diminish, 

Deference 

(( 

respect. 

Depravity 

(< 

depravation. 

Differ  with 

It 

differ  from. 

Directly 

<( 

immediately. 

Discover 

(( 

invent. 

Disability 

« 

inability. 

Education 

l( 

instruction. 

Efface 

<( 

deface. 

Effect 

(( 

consequence. 

Egoism 

«( 

egotism. 

Emigrant 

(1 

immigrant. 

Emulation 

<( 

rivalry. 

Equivocal 

<I 

ambiguous. 

Evade 

<< 

prevaricate. 

Faculty 

II 

expertness. 

Factitious 

«< 

unnatural. 

Fanciful 

II 

fantastical. 

Fallacy 

n 

sophistry. 

Fine 

it 

beautiful. 

Final 

tt 

ultimate. 

Forbid 

II 

prohibit. 

Fracture 

it 

rupture. 

262 


RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  A. YD  PRACTICE 


Gaze 
Gratify 
Guess 
Hatred 
Haughtiness 
Help 
Hint 
Humility- 
Idiom 
Idle 

Ignorance. 
Impertinent 
Inconsistent 
Intrude 
Kingly 
Kill 

Laconic 
Labyrinth 
Lasting 
Liable 
Liberty 
Liberal 
Lifeless 
Ludicrous 
Marvelous 
Massacre 
Mercantile 
Mercenary 
Method 
Midst 
Natural 
Negligence 
Normal 
Pertinacity 
Pitiable 
Pique 
Pleasant 
Poison 
Portion 


and 


stare. 

indulge. 

think. 

odium. 

disdain. 

aid. 

suggestion. 

diffidence. 

dialect. 

indolent. 

illiterate. 

officious. 

incongruous. 

obtrude. 

regal. 

murder. 

concise. 

maze. 

durable. 

subject. 

freedom. 

generous. 

inanimate. 

ridiculous. 

wonderful. 

carnage. 

commercial. 

venal. 

manner. 

middle. 

native. 

neglect. 

abnormal. 

obstinacy. 

piteous. 

grudge. 

agreeable. 

venom. 

part. 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE 


26' 


Precarious                   and                    uncertain. 

Pretense 

'                      pretext. 

Privilege 

prerogative. 

Project 

'                       design. 

Preternatural 

supernatural. 

Qualified 

'                      competent. 

Quit 

leave. 

Reformation 

'                       reform. 

Repentance                    ' 

'                       contrition. 

Resolution                      ' 

'                       decision. 

Sabbath                          ' 

Sunday. 

Salutation                       ' 

'                      salute. 

Sentimental                   ' 

romantic. 

Serf 

'                      slave. 

Sewerage                       ' 

'                      sewage. 

Sneer                             ' 

'                      scoff. 

Spontaneous                  ' 

'                      voluntary. 

Subsidy                           ' 

'                      tribute. 

Taciturn                         ' 

1                       silent. 

Talkative                        ' 

1                      garrulous. 

Tall 

high. 

Tease                             ' 

'                     vex. 

Temerity                       ' 

'                      rashness. 

Term                             ' 

'                      word. 

Thief 

'                     robber. 

Thither 

'                       there. 

Unison                            ' 

'                       unity. 

Utility                             ' 

usefulness. 

Whither 

'                       where. 

Words  Confounded. 
Words  that  are  often  confounded  with  each  other  or  that 
are  otherwise  misapplied  by  resemblance  of  form  or  sound, 
or  by  the  prevailing  indiscriminate  use  of  abstract  and  con- 
crete words  from  the  same  root,  are — 

Acceptation  *  and  acceptance. 

Accession  access. 

*  The  student  will  learn  by  reference  to  any  standard  dictionary  why  each 
word  should  not  be  used  for  the  opposite  word. 


264        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Advancement                 and                advance. 

Advertise                          ' 

'                  advise. 

Admissible                      ' 

1                   permissible. 

Approbation                     ' 

'                   approval. 

Arrant                               ' 

'                  errant. 

Around                             ' 

'                   round. 

Barbaric                            ' 

'                   barbarous. 

Captivate                          ' 

1                   capture. 

Ceremonious                    ' 

'                   ceremonial. 

Childish                             ' 

'                   childlike. 

Completion                       ' 

'                   completeness. 

Conscience                       ' 

'                   consciousness 

Construe                           ' 

'                   construct. 

Deadly                              ' 

'                   deathly. 

Definite                             ' 

'                   definitive. 

Depreciate                       ' 

'                  deprecate. 

Disclose                           ' 

1                   discover. 

Disposition                       ' 

'                   disposal. 

Distinctly                          ' 

'                   distinctively. 

Distraction                      ' 

'                  abstraction. 

Effeminate                       ' 

'                   feminine. 

Enormousness                 ' 

'                   enormity. 

Equable 

'                   equitable. 

Exceptionable 

'                   exceptional. 

Extant                               ' 

'                   existing. 

Genii 

'                   geniuses. 

Import                               ' 

'                   importance. 

Individual 

'                   individuality. 

Incredulous                      ' 

'                   incredible. 

Intention                           ' 

'                   intent. 

Latest                               ' 

last. 

Limitation                         ' 

'                   limit. 

Masculine                         ' 

'                   manly. 

Merit 

'                   demerit. 

Meretricious 

'                   meritorious. 

Monogram 

'                   monograph. 

Nationality                       ' 

'                   nation. 

Novice 

'                    novitiate. 

Needful 

'                   needy. 

EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE 


265 


Pitiable 

and 

pitiful. 

Politic 

political. 

Principal 

principle. 

Predication 

prediction. 

Recipe 

receipt. 

Relation 

relative. 

Rendition 

rendering. 

Resort 

resource. 

State 

estate. 

Stationary- 

stationery. 

Stimulation 

stimulus. 

Suspect 

expect. 

Unusual 

uncommon. 

Vacuity 

vacancy. 

Visitor 

visitant. 

Womanish 

womanly. 

Yellow 

yellowness. 

Exercises  without  Reference  to  Dictionaries  and 

Other  Books. 

The  following  notes  on  words  which  are  often  improperly 
used  for  each  other,  are  by  Professor  Phelps.  If  circum- 
stances do  not  permit  the  use  of  dictionaries  and  other 
works  on  synonyms,  this  list  will  be  found  unusually  large 
and  varied  for  a  text-book  on  rhetoric. 

1.  Ability  and  Capacity  are  not  exact  synonyms.  The  one 
expresses  active  power ;  the  other,  receptive  power.  But  the  plural 
"  abilities  "  includes  both  ideas. 

2.  Adherence  and  Adhesion  were  once  interchangeable.  Now 
the  one  is  restricted  to  things  mental  and  spiritual ;  the  other,  to 
things  material.  We  speak  properly  of  adherence  to  a  principle, 
and  of  the  adhesion  of  iron. 

3.  Alone  is  improperly  used  in  the  sense  of  "  only ; "  as  in  the 
phrase  "  the  alone  God."  This  word  was  originally  written  "  all-one." 
Later  usage,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  has  abandoned  the  ancient  form, 
and  so  lost  from  the  word  the  ancient  idea  of  unity. 

4.  Among  and  Between  are  not  interchangeable.    "  Between  "  is 


266        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

the  right  word  when  only  two  are  concerned  ;  "  among,"  when  more 
than  two. 

5.  Ancient  and  Antiquated  are  not  synonyms.  An  antiquated 
thing  is  ancient ;  an  ancient  thing  may  not  be  antiquated.  An  an- 
cient institution  may,  for  that  reason,  be  the  more  worthy  of  re- 
spect ;  an  antiquated  institution  has  outlived  respect. 

6.  Apparent  is  in  some  connections  improperly  used  as  the  syn- 
onym of  "  obvious."  To  say  that  an  occurrence  is  apparent  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  it  is  real,  but  may  mean  the  reverse.  We  speak 
of  an  apparent  contradiction,  which  we  do  not  admit  to  be  a  real 
one.  The  phrase  "  heir-apparent  "  suggests  the  contingency  that  the 
heir  may  not  come  to  the  throne. 

7.  Apprehend  and  Comprehend  are  improperly  interchanged. 
To  apprehend  a  truth  is  to  perceive  it,  to  have  some  intelligible  no- 
tion of  it :  to  comprehend  a  truth  is  to  understand  it  in  all  its  compass. 
We  may  represent  the  mysteries  of  religion  as  apprehensible  by  the 
human  mind,  but  not  as  comprehensible.  To  apprehend  them  is  suffi- 
cient ground  for  faith  :  to  comprehend  them  would  be  an  act  of  reason. 

8.  Apprehensive  is  improperly  employed  in  the  sense  of  "  under- 
standing." "  Apprehend  "  and  "  understand  "  are  synonyms  :  "  ap- 
prehensive "  and  "understanding"  are  not.  The  element  of  fear 
enters  into  the  meaning  of  "  apprehensive."  We  say,  "  I  am  appre- 
hensive that  it  is  too  late."  It  is  rarely  used  now  in  its  etymological 
sense  except  as  a  technicality  in  philosophy. 

9.  Averse  from  vs.  Averse  to. — Which  is  right  ?  Usage  is  di- 
vided. Some  cling  to  the  first  phrase  on  etymological  grounds. 
Others  contend  that  the  second  phrase  has  vanquished  etymology, 
and  is  authorized  by  usage.  Noah  Webster  and  Dr.  Todd,  the  edi- 
tor of  Johnson's  Dictionary,  contend  for  "  averse  to  :  "  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon  and  Sir  James  Mackintosh  prefer  "  averse  from."  In  the 
present  balance  of  authorities,  either  form  is  allowable  ;  but  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  the  etymological  form  will  be  displaced,  and 
"  averse  to  "  will  hold  ascendency  in  the  language.  It  is  a  curious 
phenomenon,  that,  when  an  etymological  form  has  begun  to  yield  its 
place,  it  rarely  becomes  firmly  fixed  again.  The  drift  of  usage  is  to 
its  exclusion.     It  is  like  a  loosened  tooth. 

10.  Beside  and  Besides  are  not  synonyms,  yet  are  very  frequently 
so  used  by  writers.  "  Beside  "  means  "  by  the  side  of :  "  "  besides  " 
means  "  in  addition  to." 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE  267 

11.  Betrayal  vs.  Betrayment. — Which?  Dr.  Whately  uses 
the  first ;  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  second.  Both  are  condemned  by 
some  critics.  But  we  surely  must  have  one  of  them.  "  Betrayal  "  is 
the  more  frequently  used,  but  "  betrayment "  has  the  more  regular 
English  construction.  At  present  either  is  allowable,  but  usage  in- 
clines to  the  first. 

12.  Chastity  and  Chasteness  are  not  synonyms.  Dean  Swift 
is  eminent  for  chasteness  of  style,  but  not  for  chastity  of  thought.  As 
applied  to  authorship, "  chasteness  "  means  rhetorical  purity.  "  Chas- 
tity "  means  moral  purity.  A  pure  woman  has  chastity  ;  a  pure  style 
has  chasteness ;  and  both  are  chaste.  Yet  De  Ouincey  improperly 
speaks  of  "  chastity  of  style." 

13.  Christen  for  Baptize  cannot  be  condemned  as  bad  Eng- 
lish so  long  as  the  English  Church  retains  it.  But  it  does  not  at  all 
express  the  true  idea  of  baptism.  In  perfect  English,  "  to  christen  " 
is  to  Christianize.  A  heathen  nation  is  christened  when  converted 
to  Christianity.  An  old  writer  says,  "  The  most  part  of  England 
was  christened  in  the  reign  of  King  Ethelred."  From  this  use,  the 
word  was  transferred  to  the  rite  of  baptism  ;  that,  in  the  sense  of 
baptismal  regeneration,  being  synonymous  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.  In  Shakespeare's  drama  "  Henry  the 
Eighth,"  the  king  is  informed  of  the  birth  of  his  daughter  Elizabeth, 
and  asks  Cranmer  to  baptize  her,  saying,  "  I  long  to  have  this  young 
one  made  a  Christian." 

14.  Concept  and  Conception  have  a  history.  "  Concept  "  was 
once  good  English  as  the  synonym  of  "  conception."  Then  it  fell 
into  disuse,  and  now  is  revived  again  by  Sir  William  Hamilton  and 
others,  but  not  as  the  synonym  of  "  conception,"  but  to  signify  the 
idea  conceived.  But  in  any  sense  "  concept "  must  be  as  yet  re- 
garded as  a  technicality  of  psychological  science. 

15.  Coeval  and  Contemporaneous  involve  a  nice  distinc- 
tion, for  which  etymology  furnishes  no  reason,  but  which  usage  au- 
thorizes. "  Coeval  "  is  applied  to  institutions  ;  "  contemporaneous  " 
to  individuals.     Authors  are  contemporaneous,  not  coeval. 

16.  Conform  with  vs.  Conform  to. — Which?  This  is  one 
of  the  cases  in  which  etymology  has  given  way  to  usage.  The  West- 
minster Catechism  obeys  the  usage  of  its  own  day  and  of  ours  in 
saying,  "Sin  is  any  want  of  conformity  unto  the  law  of  God." 

17.  Continual   and   CONTINUOUS  are    not   exact    synonyms. 


268        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

"  Continual,"  commonly,  not  always,  means  "  with  constant  recur- 
rence." "  Continuous  "  is  the  stronger  word,  and  means,  "  without 
intermission."  We  should  be  correct  in  saying,  "  Continual  inter- 
ruptions prevent  continuous  study." 

1 8.  Decided  vs.  Decisive. — These  are  not  synonyms.  A  de- 
cided fact  is  one  which  is  beyond  dispute  ;  a  decisive  fact  is  one 
which  puts  an  end  to  dispute.  You  may  have  a  decided  opinion,  but 
it  may  not  be  decisive  of  a  controversy.  A  decided  victory  may  not 
be  decisive  of  a  campaign. 

19.  Delicious  vs.  Delightful.— The  first  should  always  be 
restricted  to  pleasures  of  sense.  We  should  not  speak  of  a  delicious 
joy,  or  peace,  or  communion.  Even  the  phrase  "  delicious  music  " 
implies  the  predominance  of  the  sensuous  element  in  the  pleasures 
of  song. 

20.  Delusion  vs.  Illusion. — These  are  not  exact  synonyms, 
though  the  dictionaries  interchange  them.  Coleridge  writes,  "  That 
illusion,  contradistinguished  from  delusion."  Dr.  Whately  indicates 
the  distinction  tersely  by  recalling  the  etymology  of  the  two  words : 
illudo,  "  to  make  sport  of;  "  dcludo,  "  to  lead  astray."  Illusion  ex- 
ists in  the  imagination  only :  delusion  affects  conduct  in  real  life. 
The  one  is  a  mental  error  in  a  passive  state  ;  the  other,  a  mental 
error  in  active  working.  The  same  error  may  be  first  an  illusion, 
and  then  a  delusion. 

21.  Depravity  and  Depravation  are  not  interchangeable. 
Depravity  expresses  the  state  or  the  quality ;  depravation,  the  act  or 
the  process. 

22.  Diction  and  Style  are  not  exact  synonyms.  Style  refers  to 
thought  and  language  ;  diction,  to  language  only.  Yet  where  exact 
definition  is  not  necessary,  these  words  may  be  interchanged. 

23.  Differ  with  vs.  Differ  from. — Which?  Dr.  Worcester 
and  the  last  editors  of  Webster's  Dictionary  defend  the  first  of  these 
forms  as  being  in  good  use  in  England,  and  gaining  ground  in  this 
country.  They  give  Lord  Brougham  and  Mr.  Canning  as  authori- 
ties. These  are  hardly  conclusive  authorities.  In  this  country,  ob- 
servation will  detect  the  phrase  chiefly  in  the  style  of  newspapers. 
If  we  admit  it,  we  must  admit  the  phrase  "  differ  from  "  also ;  for  of 
that  there  can  be  no  doubt.     "  Differ  with  "  we  may  note  as  doubtful. 

24.  Disbelief  and  Unbelief  involve  a  distinction  of  great 
moment.      "Unbelief"    expresses   less   than   "disbelief."      It    may 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE  269 

arise  from  ignorance  or  the  want  of  evidence.  "  Disbelief  "  is  more 
positive  :  it  implies  that  evidence  has  been  considered  and  rejected. 
The  folly  of  an  atheist  consists  in  the  fact  that  he  affirms  the  nega- 
tive of  that  of  which  no  human  mind  can  know  a  negative.  Yet 
the  distinction  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin.  When  our  Eng- 
lish Bible  was  translated,  the  distinction  was  not  clearly  recognized 
in  the  language.  Our  Lord,  therefore,  is  represented  as  denouncing 
the  sin  of  unbelief,  when  the  thing  he  did  denounce  was  the  more 
positive  sin  of  rejecting  evidence. 

25.  Endow  and  Endue  have  a  nice  distinction  in  good  English 
use.  "  Endow  "  may  be  employed  in  reference  to  any  qualities, 
mental,  moral,  or  physical ;  "  endue,"  to  mental  and  moral  qualities 
only.  Solomon  was  endowed  with  wealth,  and  endued  with  wis- 
dom. 

26.  Enthusiasm  vs.  Fanaticism. — Formerly  both  words  were 
employed  to  signify  defects,  both  being  morbid  excitements,  differing 
only  in  degree.  Recent  usage  has  rescued  the  word  "  enthusiasm  " 
from  association  with  mental  disease,  and  authorizes  now  its  use  to 
signify  a  healthy  and  normal  excitement.  Says  a  living  author, 
"  The  Puritans  were  enthusiasts  for  religious  liberty,  not  fanatics." 
Fifty  years  ago  that  distinction  was  unknown. 

27.  Epoch  and  Era  should  be  distinguished.  In  loose  usage 
they  are  interchanged,  and  the  principles  on  which  our  dictionaries 
are  compiled  lead  them  to  recognize  this.  Yet  the  distinction  is  val- 
uable, and  the  language  is  improved  in  precision  by  retaining  it.  An 
era  is  a  succession  of  time :  an  epoch  is  a  point  of  time.  An  era 
commonly  begins  at  an  epoch.  We  live  in  the  Christian  era,  in  the 
Protestant  era,  in  the  era  of  liberty  and  letters.  The  date  of  the 
birth  of  Christ  was  an  epoch  :  the  period  of  the  dawn  of  the  Refor- 
mation was  an  epoch. 

28.  Eternal  and  Everlasting  are  critical  words.  Modern 
usage  has  developed  a  distinction  which  did  not  formerly  exist. 
"  Everlasting  "  means  now  "  without  end  :  "  "  eternal,"  without  be- 
ginning or  end.  Once  they  were  interchangeable.  Now  we  should 
not  designate  the  past  eternity  of  God  by  the  word  "  everlasting  " 
except  in  biblical  quotations,  as  in  the  phrase  "  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting."  On  the  same  principle  of  conformity  to  usage,  we 
drop  the  word  "  eternal,"  and  substitute  "  everlasting,"  in  defining 
the  doctrine  of  future  punishment. 


270        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

29.  Except  and  Unless  are  confounded  by  heedless  writers. 
"  You  cannot  have  it  except  you  earn  it "  should  be,  "  unless  you 
earn  it."  The  one  is  a  preposition  ;  the  other,  a  conjunction.  The 
improper  use  of  "  except  "  is  a  Southern  provincialism. 

30.  Falsehood  for  Falseness. — The  thing  for  the  quality  of 
the  thing  is  not  precise.  The  lie  is  the  falsehood :  the  untruthful- 
ness of  it  is  the  falseness. 

31.  Genius  vs.  Talents. — What  is  the  distinction  ?  Criticism  is 
uniform  in  admitting  a  distinction,  not  so  in  defining  it.  The  words 
should  be  noted  as  by  no  means  interchangeable.  See  the  word 
"genius"  in  Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary. 

32.  Habit,  Custom,  Usage,  are  improperly  confounded.  "Hab- 
it "  is  commonly,  in  strict  use,  limited  to  the  individual ;  "  custom  " 
implies  the  consent  of  numbers  ;  and  "  usage  "  is  a  long-established 
custom.  Thus  Shakespeare  says,  "  How  use  doth  breed  a  habit  in  a 
man  !  "  And  Hooker  writes,  "  Of  things  once  received  and  con- 
firmed by  use,  long  usage  is  a  law  sufficient."  It  may  not  be  that 
these  are  all  the  distinctions  among  these  words  established  in  the 
language,  but  they  are  true  so  far  as  they  go. 

33.  Haste  and  Hurry  are  not  synonyms.  The  first  does  not 
imply  confusion :  the  second  does.  A  man  may  reasonably  be  in 
haste,  never  in  a  hurry.  Napoleon,  after  a  great  defeat,  when  min- 
utes of  delay  might  bring  the  enemy  upon  his  retreat,  wrote  a  pro- 
posal for  an  armistice  of  a  few  hours  ;  and  when  it  was  suggested, 
that,  to  save  time,  he  should  seal  the  document  with  a  wafer,  he  said, 
"  No :  give  me  the  sealing-wax  and  a  candle.  A  man  should  never 
seem  to  be  in  a  hurry." 

34.  Healthy  and  Healthful. — A  valuable  distinction  has 
grown  up  in  recent  years,  which  is  not  yet  insisted  upon  by  the  lexi- 
cographers ;  but  scholarly  usage  should  recognize  it.  "  Healthy  " 
expresses  the  condition  :  "  healthful  "  means  "  producing  health." 

35.  Imagination  and  Fancy. — See  Wordsworth's  Preface  to  his 
"  Lyrical  Ballads."  That  essay  is  a  fine  specimen  of  literary  criti- 
cism, and  a  striking  example  of  the  power  of  a  great  author  to 
evolve  from  a  language  a  latent  distinction  which  the  national  mind, 
as  represented  by  its  educated  classes,  has  felt  vaguely  between 
words,  which,  because  of  their  vagueness,  have  been  for  generations 
used  loosely.  Probably  Wordsworth  has  fixed  those  two  words, 
with  their  present  meanings,  in  the  language  for  ever.     What  is  the 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION   OF  STYLE  2J I 

distinction  ?  Both  words  express  exercises  of  the  mind's  creative 
power ;  but  "  imagination  "  is  the  more  profound,  the  more  earnest, 
and  the  more  logical.  "  Fancy  "  is  the  more  superficial,  the  more 
playful,  and  often  the  more  capricious.  The  national  mind  has  for 
a  long  time  felt  this  difference,  and  has  expressed  it  in  the  words 
"imaginative"  and  "fanciful."  It  did  not  clearly  recognize  the 
same  difference  between  "  fancy  "  and  "  imagination  "  till  Words- 
worth disclosed  it. 

36.  Imperative  and  Imperious  are  very  far  from  being  syn- 
onyms. One  means  "  authoritative  ;  "  the  other  "  domineering." 
God's  law  is  imperative,  never  imperious.  Imperiousness  is  always 
offensive.  "  This  imperious  man  will  work  us  all  from  princes  into 
pages." — Shakespeare.  "  His  bold,  contemptuous,  and  imperious 
spirit." — Macaulay. 

37.  In  spite  of  is  not  synonymous  with  "  notwithstanding."  It 
is  a  surly  phrase.  Is  there  no  difference  in  rhetorical  effect  between 
saying,  "  in  spite  of  your  argument,"  and  saying,  "  notwithstanding 
your  argument  "  ?  Does  not  Shakespeare  imply  a  threat,  when  he 
says,  "  I'll  keep  mine  own  in  spite  of  all  the  world"  ? 

38.  Learn  for  Teach  was  once  good  English,  signifying 
either  to  give  or  receive  knowledge.  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  so  employs  the  word.  At  present  it  retains  but  one  of  these 
senses. 

39.  Like  for  Love. — We  detect  the  difference  between  these 
words  as  soon  as  attention  is  called  to  it.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  fre- 
quent evidences  of  the  want  of  colloquial  culture,  that  they  are  em- 
ployed interchangeably.  A  man  should  love  the  truth,  not  like  it : 
he  may  like  a  leg  of  mutton,  not  love  it. 

40.  Memories  for  Reminiscences. — "  Sunny  Memories  of  For- 
eign Lands  "  is  the  title  of  a  book  by  Mrs.  Stowe.  The  attractiveness 
of  the  title  is  gained  at  the  expense  of  pure  English.  We  detect  the 
error  by  putting  the  word  into  the  singular.  We  do  not  speak  of 
a  single  reminiscence  as  a  memory.  Why  not,  if  the  plurals  of  the 
two  words  are  synonyms  ? 

41.  Moment  and  Minute  are  not  synonyms.  The  "  minute  "  is 
the  sixtieth  part  of  an  hour  :  the  "  moment  "  is  the  shortest  possible 
measure  of  time.  Says  St.  Paul,  "  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye."     The  eye  does  not  require  a  minute  for  the  act  of  twinkling. 

42.  Mutual  and  Common  are  confounded  in  the  phrase  "  mu- 


272        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

tual  friend  :  "  it  should  be  a  "  common  friend."  In  the  plural,  "  mu- 
tual friends  "  would  not  be  inaccurate,  meaning  that  two  persons  are 
friends  each  to  the  other.  "  Common  friend  "  means  that  a  third 
person  is  a  friend  to  two  or  more  other  persons.  "  Mutual  "  implies 
interchange. 

43.  Observation  and  Observance. — Are  they  synonyms  ?  No. 
The  one  means  the  act  of  "  taking  notice  of : "  the  other  means  the 
act  of  "performing  some  duty."  We  should  not  say,  "  The  obser- 
vation of  the  sabbath,"  but  "  The  observance,"  etc.  Astronomers 
have  recently  taken  observations  of  the  transit  of  Venus.  Faithful 
Christians  practise  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day. 

44.  Paternal  and  Fatherly. — Which  ?  Both  are  good  words ; 
one  Latin,  the  other  Saxon.  The  Latin  is  the  more  stately,  the 
Saxon  the  more  cordial,  in  its  associations.  The  Latin  might  be  the 
more  becoming  in  a  diplomatic  paper ;  the  Saxon,  vastly  the  more 
effective  in  a  sermon . 

45.  Pitiful,  Piteous,  and  Compassionate. — Are  these  words 
synonyms  ?  By  the  authority  of  dictionaries,  and  to  some  extent  by 
usage,  we  may  answer  both  Yes  and  No.  That  is  to  say,  contra- 
dictory meanings  are  attached  to  them.  Thus,  "  pitiful  "  is  used  to 
express  "  feeling  pity,  exciting  pity,"  and  "  exciting  contempt."  The 
same  is  true  of  "  piteous."  Usage  will  uphold  us  in  saying  that 
God  is  a  pitiful,  that  is,  a  compassionate  being;  and  that  a  cer- 
tain man  is  a  pitiful,  that  is,  a  contemptible  being.  Usage  some- 
times gives  a  liberty  which  good  taste  condemns  as  license.  As 
a  general  rule,  we  may  meet  all  the  necessities  of  speech  by  em- 
ploying the  word  "  compassionate "  to  express  the  idea  of  "  ex- 
ercising pity,"  "  piteous  "  to  express  the  idea  of  "  exciting  pity," 
and  "pitiful"  to  express  the  idea  of  "exciting  contempt."  Thus, 
the  good  Samaritan  was  a  compassionate  man ;  the  man  who  fell 
among  thieves  was  in  a  piteous  condition ;  the  thieves  were  pitiful 
fellows. 

46.  Pride  and  Vanity. — It  is  a  popular  error  that  interchanges 
these  words.  The  sin  of  pride  is  denounced  when  the  connection 
indicates  that  the  thing  denounced  is  not  that,  but  vanity ;  not  the 
self-contained  vice  which  despises  other  men,  but  the  superficial  vice 
which  depends  for  its  indulgence  on  the  opinion  of  other  men.  The 
Scriptures  are  keen  in  their  analysis  of  human  nature,  when  they 
condemn  pride  as  the  most  concentrated  of  mental  vices  and  the 


EXERCISES  IN  PRECISION  OF  STYLE  2JI 

most  corrosive  to  upright  character.     Satan  is  pride  personified.  We 
do  not  know  that  he  was  ever  weak  enough  to  be  vain. 

47.  Rational  and  Reasonable  are  not  interchangeable.  "  Ra- 
tional "  refers  to  the  existence  of  reason  ;  "  reasonable,"  to  its  exer- 
cise. To  say  that  an  opinion  is  irrational  is  to  say  that  it  implies  the 
loss  or  suspension  of  reason  :  to  pronounce  an  opinion  unreasonable 
is  only  to  say  that  the  arguments  in  support  of  it  are  not  sufficient. 
One  may  hold  unreasonable  opinions  which  are  not  irrational :  the 
deficiency  may  be  in  a  perverted  use  of  reason,  not  in  the  loss  of  it. 

48.  Ride  and  Drive. — English  usage  makes  a  distinction  be- 
tween these  words  which  is  not  commonly  recognized  in  this  coun- 
try, but  is  a  valuable  one,  and  it  augments  the  precision  of  the 
language. '   A  "  ride  "  is  in  the  saddle  :  a  "  drive  "  is  in  a  carriage. 

49.  Rugged  and  Hardy  are  not  synonyms.  "  Rugged "  is 
"  rough."    We  should  not  speak  of  "  rugged  health." 

50.  Security  and  Safety  are  often  interchanged,  yet  are  not 
synonyms  ;  and  the  distinction  between  them  is  one  which  it  is  de- 
sirable to  retain.  "  Security  "  retains  somewhat  of  its  etymolog- 
ical meaning  of  "  freedom  from  care." 

51.  Self-love  and  Selfishness  have  a  very  marked  distinction 
which  ever  since  Bishop  Butler's  day  has  been  established.  He 
says,  "  Men  would  be  much  better  than  they  are  if  they  had  more 
self-love."  Self-love  is  a  legitimate  and  unavoidable  exercise  of 
intelligent  beings  :  selfishness  is  not  such.  The  one  is  innocent ;  the 
other,  a  sin. 

52.  Sensual  and  Sensuous  are  liable  to  confusion.  The  former 
always  involves  moral  wrong  :  the  latter  is  only  a  philosophical  term. 
All  men  are  sensuous  beings  :  only  bad  men  are  sensual  beings. 

53.  Sympathy  and  Pity  are  not  exact  synonyms.  "  Sympathy  " 
has  never  lost  entirely  its  etymological  sense  of  feeling  iuith  another. 
It  is  a  finer  exercise  of  benevolence  than  "  pity."  We  may  pity  one 
whom  we  despise  :  we  cannot  sympathize  with  such  a  one. 

54.  The. — This  article  is  noted  for  the  sake  of  observing  the  error 
of  omitting  it  from  a  variety  of  words  for  which  precision  requires  it. 
We  have  observed  its  omission  from  the  word  "  community."  Other 
words  are  subjected  to  the  same  decapitation.  "  Opposition,"  "  min- 
istry," "presbytery,"  "council,"  "congress,"  are  examples.  We 
say,  "  The  Senate,  the  House  of  Representatives  :  "  why  not  "  the 
Congress  "  as  well?     This  was  the  usage  of  the  most  scholarly  men 

iS 


274        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

among  the  statesmen  of  the  first  age  of  the  republic.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  revived  by  President  Arthur.  The  most  unscholarly 
omission  of  the  article,  in  which  the  error  is  open  to  the  charge  of 
irreverence,  is  in  the  use,  without  the  article,  of  the  titles  of  the  divine 
Trinity  in  the  formula  of  baptism  and  the  closing  ascription  in 
prayer:  "  In  the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost !  "  Is  not  the 
use  of  the  article  before  each  title  more  reverent  ?  By  the  more  de- 
liberate utterance  which  it  compels,  the  sentiment  of  reverence  gains 
time  to  express  itself.  A  hearer  said  that  a  certain  preacher's  rapid 
utterance  of  the  trinitarian  formula  without  the  article  reminded  him 
of  the  title  of  a  mercantile  firm,  like  "  Smith,  Jones,  &  Robinson." 


EXERCISES    IN    PERSPICUITY   OF   STYLE 

CHAPTERS  XI.,    XII.,   XIII.,   AND   XIV. 
FIGURATIVE     LANGUAGE. 

In  examining  figurative  language,  especially  the  meta- 
phor, the  student  should  apply  the  rule  given  by  Dr.  Blair. 
The  rule  is,  in  substance,  that  we  are  to  test  the  propriety 
of  the  figure  by  forming  from  it  a  picture.  If  the  parts 
are  so  incongruous  as  to  make  when  put  together  "  a  mon- 
strous image,"  as  Dr.  Blair  says,  the  figure  is  bad.  If  the 
parts  so  agree  as  to  present  the  subject  "  in  one  natural 
and  consistent  point  of  view,"  the  figure  is  good. 

According  to  this  test,  make  a  mental  picture  of  each  of 
the  following  examples,  and  name  the  good  and  the  bad 
figures. 

i.  "How  terrified  should  we  have  been  had  one  of  these  lack- 
lustre eyes  but  rolled  in  its  orb,  or  opened  its  leathern  jaws." 

2.  "  You  with  nice  ear  on  tiptoe  strains  pervade." 

3.  "  Speech  is  silver,  silence  is  gold." 

4.  "  A  heroine  as  wild,  fascinating,  romantic,  and  extravagant  as 
ever  trod  the  stage  of  theatre  or  page  of  romance." 

5.  "  Long  aisles  of  oaks  returned  the  silver  sound. 

And  amorous  echoes  talked  along  the  ground." 

6.  "  I'd  be  a  butterfly  ;  living  a  rover, 

Dying  when  fair  things  are  fading  away." 

7.  "  Seemed  washing  his  hands  with  invisible  soap, 

In  imperceptible  water." 

8.  "  We  join  ourselves  to  no  party  that  does  not  carry  the  flag 
and  keep  step  to  the  music  of  the  Union." 

9.  "  John  Brown,  God  bless  you !  You  have  struck  a  noble 
blow  ;  you  have   done  a  mighty  work  ;    God  was  with  you  ;  your 


2J6        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

heart  was  in  the  right  place.     I  send  you  across  five  hundred  miles 
the  pulse  of  a  woman's  gratitude." 

10.  "  Arrest  Simoom  amid  his  waste  of  sand, 

The  poisoned  javelin  balanced  in  his  hand ; 
Fierce  on  blue  streams  he  rides  the  tainted  air, 
Points  his  keen  eye  and  waves  his  whistling  hair  ; 
While,  as  he  turns,  the  undulating  soil, 
Rolls  in  red  waves  and  billowy  deserts  boil." 

11.  "  Sir,  She  (Bulgaria)  was  man  enough  to  resist  Russia." 

12.  "The  voice  of  England  which  sounded  so  clearly  at  the 
last  general  election,  would  be  lost  sight  of." 

13.  "  The  germ,  the  dawn  of  a  new  vein  in  literature  lies  there." 

14.  "  When  another  commits  a  fault,  it  is  a  great  dead  tree  bare 
and  hideous ;  but  when  we  do  it,  think  of  the  reasons  climbing 
around  it  like  a  thousand  clinging  vines,  and  turning  it  into  a  beauti- 
ful object." 

1 5.  "  Every  heart  is  like  a  theatre  in  one  respect ;  there  are 
certain  effects  produced,  but  you  do  not  want  every  one  to  see  all 
the  ropes  and  pulleys." 

16.  "  He  speaks  the  voice  of  Boston,  the  home  of  Sam  Adams, 
in  this  glorious  hour." 

17.  "He  launched  the  ship  of  state  on  seas  white  with  the  fervor 
of  the  Revolutionary  love  of  liberty." 

18.  "  The  old  vices  that  shipwrecked  him  all  through  his  old 
life,  leavens  this  production." 

19.  "  From  the  throats  of  three  hundred  cannon  poured  a  shower 
of  balls  which  winnowed  the  English  ranks." 

20.  "  We  will  burn  all  our  ships,  and  with  every  sail  unfurled 
steer  boldly  out  into  the  ocean  of  freedom." 

21.  "Do  not  dare  to  be  so  absorbed  in  your  own  life,  so  wrapped 
up  in  listening  to  the  sound  of  your  own  hurrying  wheels,  that  all 
this  vast  pathetic  music  made  up  of  the  mingled  joy  and  sorrow  of 
your  fellow-men  shall  not  make  you  rejoice  to  give  yourself  for  them. " 

22.  "  The  mountains  to  the  Hebrew  were  always  full  of  mystery 
and  awe.  They  stood  around  the  sunlit  level  of  his  daily  life  robed 
in  deep  clouds,  the  home  of  wandering  winds,  flowing  down  with 
waters,  trembling  as  it  seemed,  with  the  awful  footsteps  of  God." 

23.  "  Opposite  in  the  blue  vault  stood  the  moon  like  a  silver 
shield  raining  her  bright  arrows  on  the  sea." 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE         2^] 

24.  "  We  congratulate  ourselves  on  having  torn  off  Cobbett's 
mask  and  revealed  his  cloven  hoof." 

25.  "  Throw  open  the  flood-gates  of  democracy,  and  you  pave 
the  way  for  a  general  conflagration." 

26.  "  Suffering,  like  work,  strengthens  the  capacity  for  happiness. 
It  sees  on  the  steep  paths  which  it  makes  you  climb,  sweet,  smiling 
flowers  which  the  profane  have  never  known." 

27.  "  We  must  put  our  soul  less  and  less  into  books  and  speeches. 
Let  us  lay  our  hand  to  the  clay,  let  us  take  the  spade,  the  hammer, 
the  goad,  the  whip,  and  in  place  of  tracing  characters  on  paper,  let 
us  grave  them  on  living  hearts.  Instead  of  crying, '  Forward  !  Fire  ! ' 
let  us  be  ourselves  the  first  to  attack." 

28.  "  The  German  army  at  Austerlitz  had  muscle  enough ;  at 
Sedan  brain  enough." 

29.  "  In  the  last  analysis,  it  will  be  found  that  Caesar  was  Rome's 
escape  from  communism  ;  the  rich  were  being  plundered  by  the  poor. 
They  lifted  up  their  voices  in  wild  alarm,  and  the  avenging  eagles 
hastened  across  the  Rubicon." 

30.  "  From  dome  to  dome,  when  flames  infuriate  climb, 

Sweep  the  long  street,  invest  the  tower  sublime, 

•  •  •  ■  •  •  • 

While  with  vast  strides  and  bristling  hair  aloof. 
Pale  danger  glides  along  the  falling  roof ; 

•  •••••• 

Nymphs  !  you  first  taught  the  gelid  wave  to  rise, 
Hurled  in  resplendent  arches  to  the  skies  ; 
In  iron  cells  condensed  the  airy  spring, 
And  imp'd  the  torrent  with  unfailing  wing  ; 
On  the  fierce  flames  the  stream  impetuous  falls, 
And  sudden  darkness  shrouds  the  shattered  walls  ; 
Steam,  smoke,  and  dust  in  blinded  volume  roll, 
And  night  and  silence  repossess  the  pole." 

31.  "  Ideas  rejected  at  the  time  often  rankle,  and  bear  fruit  by 
and  by." 

32.  "  Out  of  the  dark  regions  of  philosophical  problems,  the  poet 
suddenly  lets  swarms  of  song  dive  up  carrying  far-flashing  pearls  of 
thought  in  their  beaks." 

33.  "  The  chariot  of  the  revolution  is  rolling  along,  and  gnashing 
its  teeth  as  it  rolls." 


278         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

34.  "  Once  Europe  was  peopled  only  here  and  there  by  men  who 
beat  at  the  door  of  nature,  and  upon  the  heads  of  one  another  with 
sharp  flints." 

35.  "  The  soul's  dark  cottage,  battered  and  decayed, 

Lets  in  new  light  thro'  chinks  that  time  has  made." 

36.  "  It  is  the  theory  that  God  made  a  little  of  this  human  clay 
into  porcelain  vases  to  hold  the  dizzy  wine  of  exclusive  power,  but 
the  most  of  it  into  common  crockery  for  base  uses." 

37.  "  Yes,  the  long-awaited  client  had  come  at  last.  Scarred, 
scorned,  and  forsaken,  that  cowering  and  friendless  client  was 
wronged  and  degraded  humanity." 

38.  "  The  spark  that  was  kindled  at  Fort  Sumter  fell  upon  the 
North  like  the  fire  upon  the  autumnal  prairies." 

39.  "  The  South  had  builded  herself  upon  the  rock  of  slavery.  It 
lay  in  the  very  channels  of  civilization,  like  some  Flood  rock  lying 
sullen  off  Hell  Gate." 

40.  "  Our  treasure  did  not  melt  away  in  the  fiery  furnace  of 
French  tribulation  and  German  triumph." 

41.  "  The  sad  faces  and  joyous  music  formed  an  incongruous 
sight." 

42.  "  The  fruits  of  our  present  are  to  be  the  stepping-stones  into 
our  future." 

43.  "  No  Austria,  no  Prussia,  one  only  Germany,  such  are  the 
words  that  your  Imperial  Majesty  has  always  in  his  eye." 

44.  "  One  effect  of  the  Irish  Union  would  be  that  the  barren  hills 
would  become  fertile  valleys." 

45.  "  When  God  means  to  make  a  great  man  He  does  not  fling 
His  hero  like  an  aerolite  out  of  the  sky.  He  bids  him  grow  like  an 
oak  out  of  the  earth." 

46.  "  Down  the  crack  which  some  transgression  makes  in  the  fair 
face  of  a  smooth  and  blooming  life,  we  can  see  waiting  for  God's 
judgment-word,  the  fire  before  which  that  life  shall  be  at  last  con- 
sumed with  fervent  heat." 

47.  "  The  will  is  the  helmsman  of  the  ship ;  when  it  wavers  and  is 
at  a  loss,  fear  shipwreck." 

48.  "  Spires  whose  silent  finger  point  to  heaven." 

49.  "  I  am  as  a  weed, 

Flung  from  the  rock,  on  ocean's  foam  to  sail, 

Where'er  the  surge  may  sweep,  the  tempest's  breath  prevail." 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE        279 

50.  "  A  man  passes  for  what  he  is  worth.  Concealment  avails 
him  nothing,  boasting  nothing.  His  vice  glasses  his  eye,  cuts  lines 
of  mean  expression  in  his  cheek,  pinches  his  nose,  sets  the  mark  of 
the  beast  on  the  back  of  his  head,  and  writes  O  fool !  fool !  on  the 
forehead  of  a  king." 

Saxon-English    Words    Substituted     for     Words    of 
Latin  or  Greek  Origin. 

The  student  will,  by  reference  to  any  standard  dictionary, 
give  a  Saxon-English  substitute  for  each  word  in  the  fol- 
lowing list  : 

(1)  abundance,  (2)  accident,  (3)  accommodate,  (4)  alleviate,  (5)  an- 
ticipate, (6)  anterior,  (7)  appropriate,  (8)  apprehend,  (9)  archaic,  (10) 
alternate,  (1 1)  attract,  (12)  audacity,  (13)  benediction,  (14)  belligerent, 
(15)  cachinnation,  (16)  calligraphy,  (17)  cinerary,  (18)  conflagration, 
(19)  conflict,  (20)  conjecture,  (21)  consternation,  (22)  corpulent,  (23) 
criminality,  (24)  decadence,  (25)  demolition,  (26)  demented,  (27) 
desperate,  (28)  detriment,  (29)  development,  (30)  division,  (31)  dis- 
ruption, (32)  desolation,  (33)  domiciliary,  (34)  donation,  (35)  efful- 
gent, (36)  emaciated,  (37)  emancipated,  (38)  epidemical,  (39)  exten- 
sive, (40)  extenuate,  (41)  fascinate,  (42)  flagellation,  (43)  formidable, 
(44)  gradient,  (45)  gratitude,  (46)  gregarious,  (47)  habitude,  (48)  hir- 
sute, (49)  horizontal,  (50)  hostility,  (51)  inane,  (52)  increment,  (53) 
indignation,  (54)  ingenuous,  (55)  infraction,  (56)  inhabit,  (57)  inge- 
nuity, (58)  inopportune,  (59)  intimidate,  (60)  invest,  (61)  irritate,  (62) 
janitor,  (63)  jocularity,  (64)  labyrinth,  (65)  liberality,  (66)  licentious, 
(67)  magnitude,  (68)  margin,  (69)  mendacious,  (70)  mercenary,  (71) 
merit,  (72)  monotony,  (73)  moribund,  (74)  negotiation,  (75)  abjurga- 
tion,  (76)  obtuse,  (77)  operose,  (78)  parental,  (79)  parsimonious,  (80) 
penetration,  (81)  perpetual,  (82)  population,  (83)  potation,  (84)  pre- 
cipitate, (85)  proceed,  (86)  propel,  (87)  prosecute,  (88)  radiance,  (89) 
ramification,  (90)  remuneration,  (91)  respiration,  (92)  reticence,  (93) 
saccharine,  (94)  salutation,  (95)  signification,  (96)  similitude,  (97) 
select,  (98)  solicit,  (99)  stentorian,  (100)  strident,  (101)  sudorific,  (102) 
sufficient,  (103)  superintendent,  (104)  temptation,  (105)  termination, 
(106)  tortuous,  (107)  translucent,  (108)  tremulous,  (109)  turbid,  (no) 
vacant,  (111)  vagary,  (112)  valedictory,  (113)  valetudinarian,  (1 14) 
vegetation,  (115)  velocity,  (116)  vernal,  (117)  verisimilitude. 


2  8o 


RHETORIC,    ITS    THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


Generic  Words  and  Specific  Words. 

By  reference  to  Webster's  International  Dictionary,  the 
differences  in  meaning  between  each  generic  word  and  each 
of  the  specific  words  opposite  to  it,  are  to  be  given. 


GENERIC 

SPECIFIC 

Acquaintance 

familiarity,  intimacy. 

Ask 

request,  beg,  petition,  solicit, 

entreat,    implore,    beseech, 

supplicate. 

Attack 

assail,  assault,  invade. 

Choose 

prefer,  elect. 

Cloister 

monastery,  abbey,  priory. 

Commit 

intrust,  consign. 

Communicate 

impart,  reveal. 

Company 

group,     concourse,    meeting, 

convention,  assembly. 

Contemn 

despise,  scorn,  disdain. 

Contest 

conflict,  combat,  encounter. 

Danger 

peril,  hazard,  risk,  jeopardy. 

Deceive 

delude,  mislead. 

Disease 

disorder,   distemper,   malady, 

affection. 

Dislike 

aversion,    reluctance,    repug- 

nance, disgust,  antipathy. 

Effect 

consequence,  result. 

Get 

obtain,  gain,  earn,  acquire. 

Gratify 

indulge,  humor. 

Greeting 

salutation,  salute. 

Hate 

abhor,      detest,      abominate, 

loathe. 

Hide 

conceal,    disguise,   dissemble, 

secrete. 

Insanity 

lunacy,     madness,     derange- 

ment, delirium,  mania,  mon- 

omania, dementia. 

Language 

speech,  tongue,  idiom,  dialect. 

EXERCISES   IN  PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE         28 1 

GENERIC.  SPECIFIC. 

Laughable  droil,  comical. 

Leave  quit,  abandon,  relinquish,  for- 

sake, depart  from. 

Memory  remembrance,       recollection, 

reminiscence. 

Overcome  conquer,     vanquish,    subdue, 

subjugate. 

Renounce  adjure,  recant. 

Say  allude,    remark,     utter,    pro- 

nounce, proclaim,  assert. 

Sign  emblem,  symbol,  type. 

State  situation,  condition. 

Think  expect,  believe,  guess,  antici- 

pate. 

The  student  is  to  give  all  the  specific  meanings  which  he 
can  learn  have  been  assigned  to  any  of  the  following  words, 
and  also  the  specific  words  which  can  be  substituted  for 
each  word  in  the  list.  Jevons's  "  Lessons  in  Logic,"  Chap- 
ters IV.  and  V.,  Whitney's  "Study  of  Language,"  Lecture 
III.,  Trench's  "Study  of  Words,"  as  well  as  the  dictionaries, 
will  be  found  useful  in  this  exercise. 

Animal.  Law. 

Board.  Metal. 

Church.  Move,  to. 

Crime.  Post. 

Flower.  Round. 

Fish.  See,  to. 

Foot.  Smith. 

Fowl.  Sound. 

Government.  Stock. 

Hear,  to.  Strike,  to. 

Implement.  Take,  to. 

Insect.  Vehicle. 

In  the  following  list,  the  generic  word  in  each  group  of 
words  is  to  be  selected,  and  the  specific  words  of  the  group 


282         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

arranged  in  a  series,  each  term  of  a  more  general  meaning 
being  placed  before  one  of  the  next  specific  meaning. 

i.  Road,  elevated  steam  railway,  means  of  communication,  steam 
railway,  railway,  New  York's  elevated  steam  railway. 

2.  Duruy's  History  of  Modern  Times,  European  History,  book, 
printed  book,  history  of  modern  Europe,  history. 

3.  Purple,  color,  red. 

4.  Rectilineal  figure,  triangle,  figure,  isosceles  triangle. 

5.  Man,  Episcopalian,  animal,  Protestant,  mammal,  christian, 
biped,  being. 

Arrange  the  following  group  of  clauses  so  as  to  give  a 
description  of  the  coming  of  spring  in  an  oriental  country. 
In  this  description  the  most  general  statement  is,  "  The 
winter  is  past."  To  this  statement  is  to  be  added  in  a 
series  the  other  clauses,  as  each  gives  in  order  the  next 
specific  sign  of  the  approach  of  spring. 

The  winter  is  past — and  the  vines  with  the  tender  grape  perfume 
the  air, — the  rain  is  over  and  gone, — and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is 
heard  in  our  land, — the  fig-tree  putteth  forth  her  green  figs, — the 
flowers  appear  on  the  earth, — the  time  of  the  singing  birds  is 
come. 

The  student  before  leaving  the  subject  of  general  and 
specific  language,  should  study  the  speech  of  Mark  Antony 
in  Shakespeare's  play  of  Julius  Caesar,  Act  III.,  Scene  II. 
Beginning  with  Antony's  first  and  most  general  reference  to 
Caesar,  the  student  should  follow  the  series  of  specific  ref- 
erences, observing  not  only  their  careful  gradation,  but 
also  the  change  in  the  feelings  of  the  mob  as  the  descrip- 
tion of  Caesar's  character  and  wrongs  grows  more  and  more 
particular. 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE         283 


Abstract  Words  and  Concrete  Words. 

Give,  as  far  as  possible,  the  concrete  expression  corre- 
sponding to  each  of  the  following  abstract  words. 

Action,  animality,  beauty,  corporeity,  equality,  hardness,  gratitude, 
individuality,  intention,  length,  nationality,  rationality,  relation,  rev- 
erence, shrubbiness,  substantiality,  usefulness. 

Give  the  abstract  word  corresponding  to  each  of  the 
following  concrete  words. 

Aged,  author,  bookish,  ether,  grateful,  ink,  mute,  nation,  natural, 
relatives,  soap,  speed,  stone,  stupid,  timorous,  wood,  wool,  vacuous, 
vain. 


Examples  for  Correction  or  Criticism. 

errors   in   the  arrangement    of    pronouns    and   their 

antecedents. 

i.  There  are  many  things  to  be  said  against  the  state's  control- 
ling the  sale  of  liquor  with  which  we  are  all  familiar. 

2.  He  removed  the  cords  from   her  hands  with  which  she  was 
bound. 

3.  He  had  to  defend  himself  from  a  ceaseless  opposition  by  an 
equally  constant  watchfulness  that  was  unjust. 

4.  While  he  held  this  office  he  gave  much  time  to  feeble  attempts 
at  writing  poetry  which  was  not  his. 

5.  He   now  lives  in  a  larger  house   but  he   has   not   any  yard 
which  is  built  of  brick. 

6.  This  is  an  instance  of  a  man  fearing  to  show  himself  the  ad- 
mirer of  a  most  amiable  woman  who  had  fought  many  battles. 

7.  It  is  not  wise  to  provide  for  a  rainy  day  by  robbing  all  the 
other  days  which  may  never  come. 

8.  The  knight  made  a  solemn  vow  to  his  king  never  to  dishonor 
by  word  or  deed  his  bright  fame. 


284        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


ERRORS   IN  THE    USE  OF  THE    SAME    PRONOUN    WITH    DIFFER- 
ENT  ANTECEDENTS. 

9.  The  monkey  picked  up  the  book  and  laid  it  on  the  table,  and 
then  opened  it  and  turned  its  leaves  as  it  had  seen  its  master  do. 

10.  The  workmen  wished  to  follow  their  leaders,  but  were 
forced  by  the  sufferings  of  their  families  and  their  fears  that  worse 
troubles  might  come  to  decide  against  their  inclinations. 

11.  When  men  become  envious  of  others  they  seem  to  think  that 
in  some  way  their  gain  is  their  loss. 

12.  Mr.  A.  met  his  friend  and  told  him  what  was  his  plan ;  and 
further  that  if  he  would  get  for  him  the  influence  of  his  uncle,  he 
should  have  a  certain  share  of  the  profits. 

ERRORS    IN    FAILURE    TO    EXPRESS  DIRECTLY,   IF   IN   ANY  WAY, 
THE   ANTECEDENT    OF   THE    PRONOUN. 

13.  I  was  delighted  at  my  success  in  riding  my  friend's  bicycle, 
and  promised  myself  to  do  it  again. 

14.  It  is  our  purpose  to  make  the  bridge  strong  whatever  may  be 
the  opposition,  for  it  is  expected  of  us. 

15.  While  as  a  man  he  had  only  contempt  for  such  methods,  as 
a  politician  he  did  not  show  it. 

16.  Such  surroundings  have  a  sad  influence  on  his  mind  who 
knows  that  there  is  no  escape  from  them. 

17.  He  first  bought  a  coat  and  then  changed  it  for  a  silver  watch, 
and  afterward  in  another  trade  got  for  it  some  cigars. 

1 8.  The  game  to-day  was  as  interesting  as  it  usually  is. 

xQ.  A  few  men  of  the  team  are  doing  well,  but  most  of  them  are 
too  indifferent. 

20.  He  soon  saw  that  the  moral  qualities  of  the  young  man  were 
not  to  be  judged  by  those  of  his  diffident  speech  and  awkward  bearing. 

21.  These  seemingly  useless  parts  of  the  human  body  were  not 
understood  until  the  evolutionists  explained  them  by  those  in  the 
lower  animals. 

ERRORS  IN  THE  CASE  OF  THE  PRONOUN. 

22.  The  man  whom  they  thought  was  a  clergyman,  and  who  made 
the  first  speech,  proved  to  be  a  layman. 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE         285 

23.  When  did  we  ever  find  an  Anglo-Saxon,  whether  Englishman 
or  American,  who  had  any  doubt  of  their  right  to  rule  the  world. 

24.  These  were  the  men  whom  he  believed  were  able  to  carry  out 
the  project. 

25.  His  decision  remained  unchanged,  although  numberless  but 
not  successful  reasons  to  change  them  were  given. 

ERRORS   IN   THE    NUMBER   OF   THE   VERB   WHEN    A    PRONOUN     IS 

THE    NOMINATIVE. 

26.  His  lecture  was  one  of  the  most  suggestive  and  stimulating  of 
the  lectures  that  was  given  last  season. 

27.  The  course  of  the  reformer  at  this  critical  time  was  one  of 
the  bravest  that  has  been  taken  in  like  circumstances. 

28.  There  is  not  one  of  his  public  acts  which  do  not  show  hon- 
esty of  purpose. 

ERRORS    FROM    OMISSION    OF   RELATIVE    PRONOUNS   WHEN   THE 
GOVERNMENT   IS   CHANGED. 

29.  It  was  at  the  lower  end  of  the  athletic  field  with  which  I  am 
not  familiar,  and  have  not  even  visited. 

30.  He  took  his  political  views  from  an  old  leader  with  whom 
he  was  intimate,  and  succeeded  in  office. 

31.  It  was  a  cause  to  which  he  had  early  given  himself,  and 
sacrificed  everything. 

32.  The  friend  from  whom  he  had  received  so  much  help,  and  so 
warmly  admired  and  loved,  had  been  taken  from  him. 

33.  The  great  end  toward  which  we  are  always  striving,  and  con- 
stantly beckons  us  on,  seems  to  recede  steadily  from  us  as  we  think 
we  are  approaching  it. 

ERRORS   IN   THE  ARRANGEMENT   OF   ADJECTIVES  AND   ADVERBS. 

34.  They  were  very  much  elated  at  their  success  as  they  nearly 
caught  one  hundred  fish. 

35.  She  only  lived  for  her  child. 

36.  He  did  this  while  he  had  all  these  men  at  his  command 
alone. 


286         RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND   PRACTICE 

37.  He  is  considered  generally  intelligent. 

38.  Not  only  the  father  but  all  the  family  were  taken  prisoners. 

39.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  that  John  was  there  when  you 
just  said,  that  James  and  John  were  not  there  ? 

40.  It  is  probably  thought  that  he  will  succeed. 

41.  She  has  a  very  small  income,  as  she  nearly  lost  all  her  prop- 
erty. 

42.  Where  there  are  so  many  competitors  one  can  only  excel  by 
specializing. 

43.  Whatever  may  be  our  other  qualities,  it  is  goodness   alone 
that  can  satisfy  the  conscience. 

44.  He  spoke  to  the  young  men  who  had  been  intoxicated  most 
earnestly. 

45.  She  reads  the   novels  of   George   Meredith   as   they  appear 
eagerly. 

46.  I  only  speak  of  what  I  have  seen,  not  of  what  I  have  heard. 

47.  He  won  the  game  as  he  caught  the  ball  which  came  from  the 
second  baseman's  hand  quickly. 

48.  He  will  only  wear  well  fitting  clothes. 

49.  He  only  pays  for  his  breakfast. 

50.  She  has  been  all  over  the  house. 

5 1 .  Not  merely  this  book  but  all  the  books  which  he  had  collected 
were  destroyed. 

52.  We  never  remember  to  have  seen  the  river  so  high. 

53.  She  simply  said  that  she  desired  a  comfortable  home. 

54.  The  boy  solely  writes  about  the  games  of  the  school. 

55.  I  never  remember  to  have  spoken  to  this  man. 

56.  He  merely  talks  of  books. 

57.  I  scarcely  ever  remember  to  have  known  a  warmer  day. 

58.  The  result  is  not  agreeable  to  us  only  because  it  is  what  we 
asked  for,  but  because  it  is  what  we  need. 

59.  He  is  neither  inclined  to  favor  high  protection  nor  absolute 
free  trade. 

60.  She  was  neither  qualified  by  early  training  nor  by  later  as- 
sociations to  govern  a  country  like  Scotland. 

61.  His  career  is  neither  like  that  of  his  father  nor  that  of  any  of 
his  ancestors. 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE         287 


ERRORS   IN   THE  ARRANGEMENT   OF   QUALIFYING   CLAUSES. 

62.  The  steamer  was   swiftly   bearing  him   to  seek  his  fortune 
where  he  did  not  know  what  might  happen  to  him  in  another  world. 

63.  He  went  to  his   evening   service   after  he  had  led  in  family 
worship  with  a  quick  step. 

64.  Struggling  for  a  career  that  was  more  than  life  to  him  his 
hope  and  faith  kept  strong  to  the  end. 

65.  This  man  will  not  miss  his  reward  ultimately,  because  he  is 
unjustly  kept  from  it  now. 

66.  An  old  man  was  at  the  door  cutting  wood  with  a  pipe  in  his 
mouth. 

67.  The  boy  evidently  received  my  lecture  on  the  wickedness  of 
stealing  fruit  with  a  good  spirit. 

68.  Being  one  of  the  best  schools  in  the  country,  it  was  natural 
for  the  boys  to  pride  themselves  on  its  training. 

69.  Amazed  at  the  anger  of  the  man,  every  word  that  had  passed 
between  us  was  quickly  reviewed  to  detect  the  cause. 

70.  While  playing  ball  one  Sunday  a  pious  old  man  spoke  to 
him. 

7 1 .  He  has  said  that  the  country  is  to  prosper  only  by  every  man 
doing  his  duty  in  one  of  his  ablest  speeches. 

72.  When  he  struck  me  I  knocked  him  down,  but  I  do  not  think 
I  hurt  him  for  which  I  am  sorry. 

73.  I  learned  what  an  inefficient  woman  I  was  later  in  life. 

74.  Sometimes  disturbances  arise,  but  they  are  usually  checked 
before  much  harm  is  done  by  the  policemen. 

75.  He  has  written  a  story  about  a  remarkable  courtship  that  is  to 
appear  next  month. 

76.  Working  for  his  daily  support  and  yet  developing  his  noble 
philanthropic  plan,  is  it  any  wonder  that  there  came  in  time  com- 
plete prostration  of  body  and  spirit  ? 

77.  This  is  the  spot  about  which  I  will  tell  you  when  we  come  to 
that  part  of  the  story  where  stood  the  house  of  the  murderer. 

78.  There  will  be  two  new  courses,  if  the  number  choosing  them 
is  sufficiently  large,  to  cover  the  remaining  parts  of  the  subject. 

79.  He  said  that  his  travelling  bag  had  been  stolen  while  sleeping 
in  the  car. 


288        RHETORIC,    ITS   THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

80.  Riding  quickly  to  the  other  end  of  the  line,  the  command  of 
the  officer  came  sharp  and  clear. 

81.  The  preacher  spoke  of  the  evils  of  gambling  without  manu- 
script or  note. 

82.  He  is  in  the  country  when  business  permits  fishing,  reading 
and  idling. 


Errors  in  the  Order  of  Thought  in  the  whole  Struct- 
ure of  the  Sentence. 

Examples  of  these  errors,  with  an  explanation  of  the  ex- 
ercises and  the  directions  how  to  use  them,  are  taken  from 
Abbott's  "  How  to  Write  Clearly." 

"  The  following  exercises  consist  of  extracts  from  Bur- 
net, .  .  .  ,  and  Clarendon,  modernized  and  altered  with 
a  view  to  remove  obscurity  and  ambiguity.  The  modernized 
version  will  necessarily  be  inferior  to  the  original  in  unity 
and  style,  and  in  some  other  respects.  The  charm  of  the 
author's  individuality,  and  the  pleasant  ring  of  the  old- 
fashioned  English,  are  lost.  It  is  highly  necessary  that  the 
student  should  recognize  this,  and  should  bear  in  mind  that 
the  sole  object  is  to  show  how  the  meaning  in  each  case 
might  have  been  more  clearly  expressed.  .  .  .  These 
exercises  can  be  used  in  two  ways.  The  pupil  may  either 
have  his  book  open  and  be  questioned  on  the  reasons  for 
each  alteration,  or,  after  studying  the  two  versions,  he  may 
have  the  original  version  dictated  to  him,  and  then  he  may 
reproduce  the  parallel  version,  or  something  like  it,  on 
paper." 

Burnet. 

"  The  principal  faults  in  Burnet's  style  are  the  use  of  het- 
erogeneous sentences  ;  the  want  of  suspense  ;  the  ambig- 
uous use  of  pronouns  ;  the  omission  of  connecting  adverbs 
and  conjunctions,  and  the  excessive  use  of  "and  ;  "  and  an 


EXERCISES   TV  PERSPICUITY   OF  STYLE 


2S9 


abruptness  in  passing  from  one  topic  to  another.  The  cor- 
rection of  these  faults  necessarily  lengthens  the  altered 
version." 


83.   ORIGINAL    VERSION. 

"And  his  maintaining  the  honor 
of  the  nation  in  all  foreign  coun- 
tries gratified  the  vanity  which 
is  very  natural  to  Englishmen  ; 
of  which  he  was  so  careful  that, 
though  he  was  not  a  crowned 
head,  yet  his  ambassadors  had 
all  the  respects  paid  them  which 
our  kings'  ambassadors  ever  had  : 
he  said  the  dignity  of  the  crown 
was  upon  the  account  of  the  na- 
tion, of  which  the  king  was  only 
the  representative  head  ;  so,  the 
nation  being  the  same,  he  would 
have  the  same  regards  paid  to 
his  ministers." 


PARALLEL    VERSION. 

"  He  also  gratified  the  English 
feeling  of  self-respect  by  main- 
taining the  honor  of  the  nation 
in  all  foreign  countries.  So  jeal- 
ous was  he  on  this  point  that, 
though  he  was  not  a  crowned 
head,  he  yet  secured  for  his  am- 
bassadors all  the  respect  that 
had  been  paid  to  the  ambassa- 
dors of  our  kings.  The  king, 
he  said,  received  respect  simply 
as  the  nation's  representative 
head,  and,  since  the  nation  was 
the  same,  the  same  respect  should 
be  paid  to  the  nation's  ministers." 


Lord  Clarendon. 

"  The  principal  faults  in  this  style  are,  long  heteroge- 
neous sentences,  use  of  phrases  for  words,  ambiguous  use 
of  pronouns,  excessive  separation  of  words  grammatically 
connected  together." 


84.  original  version. 

"  It  will  not  be  impertinent  nor 
unnatural  to  this  present  dis- 
course, to  set  down  in  this  place 
the  present  temper  and  constitu- 
tion of  both  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  of  the  court  itself,  and 
//  may  be  the  less  wondered  at, 
that  so  prodigious  an  alteration 
should  be  made  in  so  short  a 
l9 


PARALLEL    VERSION. 

"  And  now,  in  order  to  explain 
as  far  as  possible,  how  so  pro- 
digious an  alteration  could  take 
place  in  so  short  a  time,  and  how 
the  royal  power  could  fall  so  low 
as  to  be  unable  to  support  itself, 
its  dignity,  or  its  faithful  servants, 
it  will  be  of  use  to  set  down  here, 
where  it  comes  most   naturally, 


2QO         RHETORIC,    ITS    THEORY  AND   TRACTIVE 

time,   and   the   crown   fallen    so  some    account    of     the    present 

low,  that  it  could  neither  support  temper  and  composition  not  only 

itself  nor   its   own   majesty,  nor  of  both  Houses   of    Parliament, 

I 'hose  who  would  appear  faithful  but  also  of  the  court  itself." 
to  it. 

ERRORS   IN    THE    USE  OF   ELLIPSIS. 

85.  Every  good  man  ought  to  battle  against  municipal  corrup- 
tion as  earnestly  as  Dr.  Parkhurst. 

86.  The  captain  in  his  indignation  was  not  less  determined  to 
humiliate  the  rival  team  than  the  other  members  of  the  home  eleven. 

87.  He  did  not  more  resemble  his  brother  than  his  father  his 
brother. 

88.  Rising  from  obscurity,  and  obtaining  his  position  by  force  of 
genius  and  industry,  the  obstacles  that  disheartened  other  men  had 
for  him  no  intimidation. 

89.  We  dislike  to  see  drunkards  as  much  as  prohibitionists. 

90.  Look  at  my  brother's  sketch  book,  and  tell  me  what  you 
think  of  them. 

91.  The  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  company. 

92.  I  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  to  ride  for  an  hour  with  a 
rogue  and  fool. 

93.  When  he  said  the  pitcher  and  catcher  of  the  nine,  I  wondered 
what  he  meant. 

94.  The  feeling  in  the  game  is  intense,  and  serious  injuries  have 
occurred. 

95.  Duty  no  less  than  pleasure  will  have  my  faithful  performance. 

96.  If  a  pupil  is  fond  of  learning  he  needs  no  stimulus,  and  if  the 
opposite  is  true  no  stimulus  will  be  of  any  avail  ;  but  as  he  is  either 
fond  of  learning  or  dislikes  it,  the  effect  of  stimulus  must  be  the  one 
or  the  other  so  that  stimulus  should  not  be  applied. 

97.  The  ends  of  a  divine  and  human  ruler  are  no  more  the  same 
than  time  and  eternity  are  the  same. 

98.  A  captain  on  a  White  Star  and  Anchor  Line  Steamship  are 
paid  very  different  salaries. 

99.  He  was  disciplined  for  doing  and  for  not  doing  what  he  ought 
not  and  what  he  ought. 

100.  A  good  heart  and  a  good  head  feel  and  know  what  is  the 
right  thing  to  be  done. 


EXERCISES  IN  PERSPICUITY  OF  STYLE         2<pi 

ERRORS     IN     THE      INTRODUCTION     OF      IRRELEVANT      MATTER 

INTO   THE   SENTENCE. 

"  To  this  succeeded  that  licentiousness  which  entered  with  the 
restoration,  and  from  infecting  our  religion  and  morals,  fell  to  cor- 
rupt our  language ;  which  last  was  not  likely  to  be  much  improved 
by  those,  who  at  that  time  made  up  the  court  of  King  Charles  the 
Second  ;  either  such  as  had  followed  him  in  his  banishment,  or  bad 
been  altogether  conversant  in  the  dialect  of  these  fanatic  times  ;  or 
young  men  who  had  been  educated  in  the  same  country ;  so  that  the 
court,  which  used  to  be  the  standard  of  correctness  and  propriety  of 
speech,  was  then,  and  I  think  has  ever  since  continued,  the  worst 
school  in  England  for  that  accomplishment ;  and  will  so  remain,  till 
better  care  be  taken  in  the  education  of  our  nobility,  that  they  may 
set  out  into  the  world  with  some  foundation  of  literature,  in  order  to 
qualify  them  for  patterns  of  politeness." — Swift. 

"  It  is  asserted,  as  a  general  affection  of  human  nature,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  read  a  book  with  satisfaction  until  one  has  ascertained 
whether  the  author  of  it  be  tall  or  short,  corpulent  or  thin  ;  and,  as 
to  complexion,  whether  he  be  a  '  black  '  man  (which  in  the  '  Specta- 
tor's '  time,  was  the  absurd  expression  for  a  swarthy  man),  or  a  fair 
man,  or  a  sallow  man,  or  perhaps  a  green  man,  which  Southey  af- 
firmed to  be  the  proper  description  of  many  stout  artificers  in  Bir- 
mingham too  much  given  to  work  in  metallic  fumes ;  on  which 
account  the  name  of  Southey  is  an  abomination  to  this  day  in  certain 
furnaces  of  Warwickshire." — De  Qiuncey. 

"  There  are  extant  numberless  books,  wherein  the  wisest  and  most 
ingenious  of  men  have  laid  open  their  hearts,  and  exposed  their  most 
secret  cogitations  unto  us  ;  in  pursuing  them  we  may  sufficiently 
busy  ourselves,  and  let  our  idle  hours  pass  gratefully ;  we  may  med- 
dle with  ourselves,  studying  our  own  dispositions,  examining  >ur 
own  principles  and  purposes,  reflecting  on  our  own  thoughts,  words, 
and  actions,  striving  thoughtfully  to  understand  ourselves ;  to  do 
this  we  have  an  unquestionable  right,  and  by  it  we  shall  obtain  vast 
benefit." — Barrow. 

"  Sir,  to  borrow  the  words  of  one  of  your  own  poets,  whose  acad- 
emic sojourn  was  in  the.  building  in  which  we  are  now  assembled, 
(and  in  what  language  but  that  of  Milton,  can  I  hope  to  do  justice  to 
Bacon  and  Newton  ?)  if  their  star  should  ever  for  a  period  go  down, 
it  must  be  to  rise  again  with  new  splendor." 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE 

CHAPTERS  XV.,    XVI.,    XVII.    AND   XVIII. 

Short  Words  and  Long  Words. 

In  the  following  sentences  substitute  a  short  or  simple 
word  of  like  meaning  for  the  word  which  is  italicized. 

1.  Will  you  accord  him  this  favor  ? 

2.  The  young  scion  is  a  promising  juvenile. 

3.  See  that  the  apartment  is  ventilated. 

4.  Such  penurious  tendencies  are  not  to  be  extirpated. 

5.  The  trouble  is  a  membranaceous  covering, 

6.  This  is  to  be  his  domicile. 

7.  Let  there  be  an  interstice  between  the  two  parts. 

8.  The  termination  of  his  career  does  not  fulfil  the  promise  of 
its  commencement. 

9.  She  does  not  speak  even  her  vernacular  with  propriety. 

10.  You  had  better  put  an  impediment  on  his  rashness. 

1 1 .  We  shall  have  a  collation  before  the  ride. 

12.  To  effectuate  your  purpose,  get  his  influence. 

13.  Mr.  C.  donated  the  organ, 

14.  The  school-room  is  palatial. 

1 5.  The  new  training  field  will  enhance  athletics. 

16.  He  manipulates  the  mandolin  well. 

17.  The  architect  will  make  good  use  of  all  the  potentialities  of 
the  old  building. 

18.  He  is  to  inaugurate  the  new  drill  to-morrow. 

19.  The   cicerone  was  an  old  woman  who   took  her  husband's 
place. 

20.  My  companion  seemed  lost  in  his  cogitations. 

21.  To  approximate  to  such  a  standard,  is  better  than  to  reach  a 
lower  one. 

22.  He  has  precipitated  his  return  to  this  country. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE  2Q$ 

23.  The  lecturer  is  a  fine  looking  personage  but  not  an  interesting 
speaker. 

24.  This  fact  alone  ought  not  to  invalidate  his  argument. 

25.  Why  does  he  take  cognizance  of  mere  trifles  ? 

26.  The  celerity  and  the  dexterity  of  his  movements  are  remark- 
able. 

27.  The  singer  has  a  captivating  manner. 

28.  His  constant  sternutation  is  very  disagreeable. 

29.  How  insensate  is  such  conduct. 

30.  The  mendacity  of  this  report  is  shameful. 

31.  It  is  a  fine  locality. 

Rewrite  the  following  sentences  using  short  words  and  a 
simple  style. 

1.  Not  even  the  sacred  desk  could  be  rescued  from  the  devouring 
element. 

2.  He  evinces  too  great  diversification  of  purpose  to  succeed. 

3.  The  thief  will  be  apprehended  as  he  has  but  an  inconsiderable 
advantage  of  the  officer  who  is  in  pursuit. 

4.  The  concatenation  of  circumstances  which  surrounds  him  is 
not  to  be  escaped. 

5.  I  shall  not  animadvert  on  his  conduct  although  it  has  event- 
uated in  our  being  in  this  melancholy  predicament. 

6.  So  much  ostentation  is  not  becoming  in  the  sanctuary. 

7.  He  was  engaged  in  making  a  series  of  excavations  for  his 
long  proposed  fence. 

8.  The  enterprise  which  has  this  magnificent  culmination  was  in- 
itiated on  a  diminutive  scale. 

9.  He  has  recuperated  sufficiently  from  the  disease  to  partake  of 
his  customary  food. 

10.  Before  retiring  he  proceeded  to  the  culinary  department  to 
give  orders  for  his  morning  banquet. 

1 1.  Will  you  permit  me  to  transmit  this  epistle  by  you  ? 

12.  He  was  impervious  to  the  vituperations  of  individual  indigna- 
tion but  felt  most  bitterly  the  opprobrium  of  the  populace. 

13.  It  was  not  his  own  predilection  but  fortuitous  circumstances 
entirely  beyond  his  jurisdiction  that  made  him  an  instrument  for  the 
persecution  uf  his  persuasion. 


294        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

14.  She  has  been  the  recipient  of  many  attentions,  and  the  brill- 
iancy of  her  achievements  this  season  eclipses  all  the  antecedent 
successes  of  her  professional  experience. 

15.  Public  taste  has  suffered  decadence,  so  that  in  the  vicissitudes 
of  a  long  artistic  career,  his  former  popularity  is  passing  into  ob- 
solescence. 

16.  I  extend  to  the  individual  an  invitation  to  my  apartments. 

Words  having  Sound  Significant  of  their  Sense. 

Give  words  which  in  their  sound  suggest  sounds  made  by 
the  wind,  by  insects,  serpents,  by  falling  water  or  falling 
timber,  by  the  opening  of  gates  on  smooth  or  on  harsh 
hinges,  by  the  music  of  the  flute,  the  violin,  by  the  noise  of 
the  drum  and  of  the  trumpet.  The  following  sentence 
from  Edward  Everett's  description  of  the  voyage  of  the 
Mayflower  illustrates  the  power  of  words  to  convey  mean- 
ing by  their  sound. 

"The  awful  voice  of  the  storm  howls  through  the  rigging:  the 
laboring  masts  seem  straining  from  their  base  :  the  dismal  sound  of 
the  pumps  is  heard  :  the  ship  leaps,  as  it  were,  madly  from  billow  to 
billow :  the  ocean  breaks  and  settles  with  ingulfing  floods  over  the 
floating  deck,  and  beats  with  deadening,  shivering  weight,  against 
the  staggered  vessel." 

Some  of  the  sentences  in  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  "  Loss  of 
the  Arctic"  get  their  finest  effect  from  the  use  of  words 
similarly  suggestive.  From  a  like  use  of  words  comes 
largely  the  power  of  Victor  Hugo's  description  of  the  strug- 
gle of  the  gun  and  the  gunner,  in  "  Ninety-three,"  and  of 
the  battle  of  Waterloo  in  "  Les  Miserables."  Instances  of 
the  oratorical  effect  of  such  words  may  be  found  in  the 
speeches  of  John  Bright,  as  also  in  the  speeches  of  Burke, 
and  of  other  great  orators.  Examination  will  show  that  the 
words  which  produce  this  effect  are  as  a  rule  Saxon-Eng- 
lish, and,  therefore,  most  often  comparatively  short  words. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE  295 

Number  of  Words, 
examples  for  correction  or  criticism  in  tautology. 

1 .  Then  came  a  clangor  and  a  harsh  ringing  sound  that  startled 
the  waiting  multitude. 

2.  In  this  secret  and  clandestine  marriage  began  the  troubles  of 
her  life. 

3.  He  came  out  of  this  danger  and  peril  a  sadder  but  a  wiser 
man. 

4.  The  society  is  without  outward  sign,  symbol,  or  emblem. 

5.  He  surprised  his  victim  by  an  inaudible  and  a  noiseless  ap- 
proach. 

6.  With  his  purpose  and  strength  of  will,  he  can  vanquish  and 
overcome  every  inherited  tendency  to  vice. 

7.  It  stands  on  the  border  and  outskirts  of  the  village. 

8.  We  shall  be  supplied  with  all  that  is  needful  and  necessary. 

9.  The  reason  is  plain   and  evident  why  the  paper  should   be 
given  up. 

10.  No  wonder  that  he  trembled  and  quaked  when  he  did  not 
know  the  cause  of  the  explosion. 

11.  The  Italian  tried  and  experimented  in  every  way  to  explain 
and  represent  to  us  what  he  wanted. 

12.  He  has  been  a  joy  and  delight  to  us  and  has  brought  to  our 
home  a  new  and  larger  happiness  and  felicity. 

13.  What  sad  and  doleful  music  that  organist  plays  ! 

14.  The  young  man  was  enticed  and  decoyed  to  the  place  of  his 
death  and  murder. 

15.  By   pushing   and   pressing   and    urging   we   made    our  way 
through  the  crowd. 

16.  He  delays,  pauses,  and  dwells  too  long  on  each  minute  subdi- 
vision to  be  interesting. 

17.  The  poor  animal  since  the  accident  has  been  dwindling  and 
wasting  away. 

18.  No  more  impudent  and  shameless  conduct  has  been  seen  here 
this  season. 

19.  I  was  sorry  to  blame  and  censure  him. 

20.  A  brave,  bold  and  resolute  boy,  he  has  made  a  noble  man. 


296        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

21.  This  is  all  that  we  can  do  with  our  limited  and  finite  powers. 

22.  She  is  ill  from  care,  anxiety,  and  solicitude. 

23.  Then  our  little  plans  will  all  be  extinguished  and  annihilated. 

24.  Why  not  be  sanguine  and  hopeful  until  you  know  the  result  ? 

25.  I  fear  anything  so  infectious  and  pestilential. 

EXAMPLES   FOR  CORRECTION   OR  CRITICISM   IN   VERBOSENESS. 

26.  The  reason  why  she  came  home  was  on  account  of  her  ill- 
ness. 

27.  The  best  explanation  of  his  conduct  is  to  be  attributed  to  his 
early  associations. 

28.  I  shall  go  from  thence  to  Boston. 

29.  From  whence  did  it  come  ? 

30.  You  can  do  it  equally  as  well. 

31.  She  is  a  widow  woman  with  several  children. 

32.  It  has  ragged  extremities  at  both  ends. 

33.  From  hence  where  will  you  go  ? 

34.  They  both  came  to  see  me  to-day. 

35.  It  is  owing  to  an  old  hatred  which  has  actuated  him  to  seize 
the  property. 

36.  You  and  I  both  agree  in  this  instance. 

37.  In  the  universal  patriotism  of  all  our  people  is  the  nation's 
bulwark. 

38.  You  have  my  grateful  thanks  and  sincere  gratitude  for  this 
favor. 

39.  All  my  friends  without  exception  are  invited. 

40.  For  two  men  to  have  precisely  the  same  name  is  a  great  in- 
convenience to  both  of  them. 

41.  Our  own  littleness  and  insignificance  seem  never  so  evident 
as  when  in  a  great  crowd  of  many  other  persons  who  know  nothing 
of  us  and  who  care  nothing  for  us. 

42.  This  is  an  original  recipe  of  his  own. 

43.  He  bears  this  with  great  equanimity  of  mind. 

44.  We  ought  to  respect  an  old  veteran  who  has  fought  for  us. 

45.  This  has  been  thought  to  be  a  universal  panacea  for  every 
political  evil. 

46.  The  wrong  was  too  intolerable  to  be  borne. 

47.  He  has  returned  again  to  us. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE  29/ 

48.  They  all  unanimously  consented  to  the  change. 

49.  A  gale  of  wind  took  off  the  unfinished  roof  of  his  prison 
house. 

50.  There  is  a  fortune  in  a  new  discovery. 

51.  "  Network  is  anything  reticulated  or  decussated  at  equal  dis- 
tances with  interstices  between  the  intersections." 

52.  The  different  branches  of  study  in  this  course  mutually  re- 
flect light  on  each  other. 

53.  He  has  been  heard  to  reiterate  again  and  again  the  story  in 
which  he  gives  an  account  of  the  impediments  and  hinderances  that 
obstructed  his  way  to  the  final  success  in  which  he  at  last  won  his 
wealth  and  reward. 

54.  The  wealth  of  this  man  in  its  rich  accumulations  has  hidden 
and  obscured  from  the  public  gaze  the  unscrupulous  and  unworthy 
means  by  which  it  was  gathered  and  acquired. 

55.  In  his  habitual  silence  on  this  subject  which  comes  from  his 
taciturn  disposition,  he  simply  reveals  a  characteristic  unwillingness 
to  lay  open  his  mind  to  others. 

56.  Our  state  of  mind  at  any  one  time  is  but  the  result  of  the 
different  circumstances  which  just  then  determine  our  mental  con- 
dition. 

EXAMPLES     FOR     CORRECTION     OR     CRITICISM     IN     CIRCUMLO- 
CUTION. 

57.  After  having  dinner  at  a  small  edition  of  a  once  large  hotel 
which  had  been  burned  the  year  before,  near  Ausable  Chasm,  and 
finding  that  the  boat  would  not  leave  Port  Kent  for  several  hours, 
and  that  the  railway  train  was  not  much  more  convenient,  probably 
for  the  same  reason  that  the  boat  arrives  so  late  because  of  the  few 
local  passengers,  I  decided  it  would  be  more  pleasant  to  be  travel- 
ling in  some  way  than  to  remain  idle  at  this  uninteresting  hotel,  and 
so  was  taken  by  horse  and  carriage  in  a  beautiful  ride  along  Lake 
Champlain,  to  Plattsburg. 

58.  When  many  duties  crowd  upon  you  which  you  feel  have  a 
claim  upon  your  best  efforts,  and  you  are,  therefore,  in  doubt  which 
first  to  attempt,  then  choose  always  that  which  is  not  most  remote 
in  its  interests  and  associations,  but  the  one  which  touches  most 
closely  your  immediate  surroundings  and  your  nearest  obligations. 


298      rhetoric,  its  theory  and  practice 

59.  He  came  to  me  as  if  something-  was  troubling  him  about 
which  he  wished  to  speak,  and  when,  seeing  his  perplexity,  and  desir- 
ing to  relieve  him  from  it,  I  said,  "  I  see  that  things  are  not  going 
right  with  you,"  he  answered  in  perhaps  not  these  words,  but  in  what 
meant  the  same,  that  while  on  the  train  he  had  taken  out  his  pocket - 
book  to  examine  a  paper  which  was  in  it,  and  in  some  way  he  had 
probably  dropped  the  pocket-book  on  the  floor  when  he  thought  he 
had  put  it  in  his  pocket,  and  so  would  like  to  borrow  from  me  ten 
dollars  to  get  home. 

60.  An  admirable  piece  of  advice  to  follow  is  to  abstain  from  in- 
teresting yourself  in  the  affairs  of  others  when  there  is  not  any  re- 
quest or  indication  that  your  services  are  desired  ;  but  to  give  your 
earnest  attention  to  what  immediately  concerns  yourself. 

EXAMPLES     OF     CONCISENESS     TO      BE      APPROVED      OR     TO      BE 

CRITICISED. 

61.  "  Christianity  a  failure!  Then  man  is  a  failure.  Then  the 
race  is  a  failure.  Then  the  government  of  God  is  a  failure.  The 
man  whose  face  is  seamed  and  ridged  all  over  with  the  fruits  of  vice 
says  virtue  is  a  failure.  The  bloated,  besotted,  drivelling  inebriate 
says  temperance  is  a  failure.  The  highwayman  and  the  murderer 
say  law  is  a  failure.  The  reckless  violators  of  the  laws  of  health  say 
the  science  of  medicine  is  a  failure.  The  owl  says  light  is  a  failure. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  men  may  be  heard  to  say  that  Christianity  is  a 
failure  ?  It's  an  old  cry.  Every  single  century  since  Christ  it  has 
sounded  out.  But  somehow  this  thing  we  call  Christianity  does  not 
fail.' ' — Her  rick  Joh  nson . 

62.  "  All  hail,  public  opinion  !  To  be  sure,  it  is  a  dangerous  thing 
under  which  to  live.  It  rules  to-day  in  the  desire  to  obey  all  kinds 
of  laws,  and  takes  your  life.  It  rules  again  in  the  love  of  liberty, 
and  rescues  Shadrach  from  Boston  Court-House.  It  rules  to-morrow 
in  the  manhood  of  him  who  loads  the  musket  to  shoot  down — God 
be  praised  ! — the  man-hunter,  Gorsuch.  It  rules  in  Syracuse,  and  the 
slave  escapes  to  Canada.  It  is  our  interest  to  educate  this  people  in 
humanity,  and  in  deep  reverence  for  the  rights  of  the  lowest  and 
humblest  individual  that  makes  up  our  numbers.  Each  man  here, 
in  fact,  holds  his  property  and  his  life  dependent  on  the  constant 
presence  of  an  agitation  like  this  of  anti-slavery.    Eternal  vigilance  is 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE  299 

the  price  of  liberty ;  power  is  ever  stealing  from  the  many  to  the  few. 
The  manna  of  popular  liberty  is  gathered  each  day,  or  it  is  rotten. 
The  living  sap  of  to-day  outgrows  the  dead  rind  of  yesterday.  .  .  . 
All  clouds,  it  is  said,  have  sunshine  behind  them,  and  all  evils  have 
some  good  result ;  so  slavery,  by  the  necessity  of  its  abolition,  has 
saved  the  freedom  of  the  white  race  from  being  melted  in  luxury  or 
buried  beneath  the  gold  of  its  own  success.  Never  look,  therefore, 
for  an  age  when  the  people  can  be  quiet  and  safe.  At  such  times 
despotism,  like  a  shrouding  mist,  steals  over  the  mirror  of  Freedom." 
—  Wendell  Phillips. 

63.  "  Thousands  have  reflected  on  a  Diarist's  power  to  cancel  our 
Burial  Service.  Not  alone  the  cleric's  good  work  is  upset  by  him  but 
the  sexton's  as  well.  He  howks  the  graves  and  transforms  the  quiet 
worms,  busy  on  a  single  poor  peaceable  body,  into  winged  serpents 
that  disorder  sky  and  earth  with  a  deadly  flight  of  zigzags,  like 
military  rockets,  among  the  living.  And  if  these  are  given  to  cry  too 
much,  to  have  their  tender  sentiments  considered,  it  cannot  be  said 
that  history  requires  the  flaying  of  them." — George  Meredith. 

64.  "  We  are  all  disgusted  by  gossip  ;  yet  it  is  of  importance  to 
keep  the  angels  to  their  proprieties.  The  smallest  insect  will  draw 
blood,  and  gossip  is  a  weapon  impossible  to  exclude  from  the  privat- 
est,  highest,  selectest.  Nature  created  a  police  of  many  ranks. 
God  has  delegated  himself  to  a  million  deputies.  From  these  low 
external  penalties,  the  scale  ascends.  Next  come  the  resentments, 
the  fears,  which  injustice  calls  out ;  then,  the  false  relations  in  which 
the  offender  is  put  to  other  men ;  and  the  reaction  of  his  fault  on 
himself  in  the  solitude  and  devastation  of  his  own  mind." — Emerson. 

65.  "  To  read  the  reports  of  the  Poor-Law  Commissioners,  if  one 
has  faith  enough,  would  be  a  pleasure  to  the  friend  of  humanitv. 
One  sole  recipe  seems  to  have  been  needful  for  the  woes  of  England 
— '  refusal  of  out-door  relief.'  England  lay  in  sick  discontent,  writh- 
ing powerless  on  its  fever-bed,  dark,  nigh  desperate,  in  the  waste- 
fulness, want,  improvidence,  and  eating  care,  till,  like  Hyperion 
down  the  eastern  steeps,  the  Poor-Law  Commissioners  arose,  and 
said,  let  there  be  workhouses,  and  bread  of  affliction  and  water  of 
affliction  there  !  It  was  a  simple  invention  ;  as  all  truly  great  inven- 
tions are.  And  see,  in  any  quarter,  instantly  as  the  walls  of  the 
workhouse  arise,  misery  and  necessity  fly  away,  out  of  sight,  out  of 
being,  as  is  fondly  hoped,  dissolve  into  the  inane  :  industry,  frugality, 


300        RHETOR  IC^    ITS   THEORY  A  AH)  PRACTICE 

rise  of  wages,  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  towards  men  do — in  the 
Poor-Law  Commissioners'  reports — infallibly,  rapidly  or  not  so  rap- 
idly, to  the  joy  of  all  parties,  supervene." — Carlyle. 

66.  "  A  disbanding  army  is  a  thaw.  The  whole  bends,  cracks, 
rolls,  crashes,  plunges.  Mysterious  disintegration  ;  Napoleon  gallops 
along  the  fugitives,  harangues  them,  urges,  threatens,  entreats.  The 
mouths  which  in  the  morning  were  crying  '  Vive  l'Empereur  ! '  are 
now  agape.  He  is  barely  recognized ;  the  Prussian  cavalry  just 
come  up,  spring  forward,  fling  themselves  upon  the  enemy.  Teams 
rush  off  ;  the  guns  are  left  to  take  care  of  themselves ;  the  soldiers  of 
the  train  take  the  horses  to  escape.  Wagons  upset  with  their  four 
wheels  in  the  air,  block  up  the  road.  They  crash,  they  crowd,  they 
trample  upon  the  living  and  the  dead.  Arms  are  broken.  A  multi- 
tude fills  roads,  bridges,  valleys,  woods,  choked  up  by  the  flight  of 
forty  thousand  men.  No  more  comrades  ;  no  more  officers  ;  no 
more  generals.     Inexpressible  dismay." — Victor  Hugo. 


Examples  for  Criticism  or  Correction. 

Clauses  and  important  words  of  the  sentence  so  placed  as 
to  lose  their  force. 

i.  He  delights  in  presenting  subjects  which  he  can  be  most  heret- 
ical in. 

2.  Though  he  was  able  and  even  brilliant  yet  he  was  far  from 
being  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  club,  with  all  his  gifts. 

3.  He  held  this  office  in  the  church  for  more  than  thirty  years  as 
if  with  a  divine  right  to  it. 

4.  Success  in  life  is  in  what  we  are,  and  not  in  what  we  have,  as 
some  seem  to  think. 

5.  Why  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  institution 
should  he  say  of  the  most  important  so  little  ? 

6.  This  is  the  most  valuable  experience  which  the  nation  thus  far 
has  passed  through. 

7.  His  conduct  during  all  his  public  career  showed  him  to  be  not 
only  a  politician  but  a  statesman. 

8.  He  will   accomplish   the  great  work  which  he    has  been    as- 
signed to. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE  301 

9.  But  keep  this  thought  in  mind  and  you  will  ultimately  succeed 
whatever  may  be  the  difficulties. 

10.  Petty  deception  is  an  evil  which  most  persons  are  sometimes 
guilty  of. 

11.  In  their  prosperity  my  friends  shall  never  hear  of  me,  but  al- 
ways in  their  adversity. 

12.  At  this  critical  moment  he  showed  great  errors  of  judgment, 
to  say  no  worse. 

13.  What  a  triumph  it  was  to  know  that  this  achievement  he  had 
planned  and  brought  about. 

14.  Several  novels  and  two  or  three  popular  magazines  were  on 
the  table,  and  an  open  writing  desk. 

15.  It  can  be  done  by  this  man  and  by  only  this  man. 

16.  There  is  nothing  more  foolish  than  envy  of  the  good  fortune 
of  others. 

17.  It  is  what  you  do  and  not  what  you  say  that  convinces  men  of 
your  sincerity. 

1 8.  There  have  been  no  suffering  and  privation  here. 

19.  And  this  is  the  man  who  once  was  the  idol  of  his  party. 

20.  It  must  be  indeed  wrong  for  an  organization  to  prevent  a  boy 
from  learning  a  trade  or  a  man  from  working  at  it  because  the  man 
and  the  boy  are  not  members  of  the  organization. 

21.  This  statement  is  not  so  much  dependent  on  as  it  is  involved 
in  what  has  been  said  before. 

22.  I  have  often  touched  on  themes  kindred  to  but  not  immediately 
connected  with  my  present  subject. 


EXAMPLES    FOR   CORRECTION     OR    CRITICISiMS   IN    THE    WRONG 
USE   OR  THE  OMITTED   USE  OF   CONNECTIVES. 

i.  Our  military  school  at  West  Point  has  a  picturesque  situation 
on  the  Hudson  River,  and  gives  a  training  which  proved  its  value  in 
the  Civil  War ;  and  is  a  place  much  visited  by  foreigners  and  who 
always  seem  surprised  at  the  precision  and  finish  of  the  drill  which 
the  cadets  display. 

2.  I  knocked  down  the  man  in  my  haste  to  escape.  I  did  not  wish 
to  do  him  serious  injury.  I  should  not  have  done  so,  had  I  not  known 
that  my  only  chance  of  life  was  in  freeing  myself  from  him.     Others, 


302        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

were  in  pursuit.     They,  I  knew,  would  not  hesitate  in  their  rage  to 
strike  the  fatal  blow. 

3.  Hazing  is  a  custom  that  in  its  old  form  has  nearly  passed  out  of 
our  larger  colleges  ;  and  if  it  appears  now,  it  is  most  often  in  the  in- 
itiations into  the  secret  organizations,  and  which  the  student  is  not 
compelled  to  enter,  so  that  one  now  usually  suffers  from  hazing  by 
choice  and  not  by  force. 

4.  We  came  to  the  river.  It  was  too  high  for  fording.  We  had 
then  to  travel  northward  several  miles.  Here  was  a  bridge.  It  was 
a  bridge  with  a  toll  house.  The  keeper  seemed  to  be  one  of  the 
Seven  Sleepers.  At  last  he  was  aroused.  We  then  went  on  our 
wearisome  way.     We  arrived  at  our  destination  at  early  daybreak. 

5.  It  was  a  delightful  walk  which  we  took  one  day  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  and  what  we  especially  enjoyed  was  that  although  we  were 
walking  several  hours,  we  never  wholly  lost  sight  of  the  beautiful 
group  of  lakes  that  makes  the  particular  spot  where  our  cottage  is  so 
pleasant ;  and  thus  we  have  come  to  be  very  much  attached  to  them, 
and  so  like  to  keep  them  always  in  view,  and  which  because 
we  often  caught  unexpected  glimpses  of  them  that  day  made  our 
walk  unusually  enjoyable. 

Change  the  following  sentences  to  the  Periodic  Struct- 
ure. 

1.  What  a  number  of  men  is  in  this  degrading  business  who 
ought  to  be  able  to  do  something  worthy  of  human  beings. 

2.  These  young  men  had  been  trained  at  home  to  promptness, 
diligence,  and  honesty  ;  and  so  when  thrown  upon  their  own  re- 
sources in  this  new  country  they  soon  showed  in  their  rise  to  wealth 
and  influence  the  value  of  early  discipline. 

3.  There  are  many  things  taught  in  these  days  which  we  may 
fail  to  know  without  suffering  from  our  ignorance. 

4.  He  spoke  eloquently,  and  so  won  over  the  jury  to  his  side. 

5.  Rigorous  discipline  is  essential  not  only  to  success  but  to 
safety  in  the  Army  and  the  Navy. 

6.  She  has  a  sweet,  sympathetic  voice,  and  therefore  gives  pleas- 
ure to  all  her  hearers  who  are  not  critical. 

7.  It  is  impossible  for  a  new  man,  if  at  all  indolent,  to  have  any 
success  here,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  openings,  the  close  competi- 
tion, and  the  energy  of  the  native  inhabitants. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OE  ST  VIE  303 

8.  The  fire  swept  on,  and  with  its  advance  gained  force  and 
range,  and  left  in  ashes  the  town,  and  in  terrible  desolation  the 
surrounding  country  for  miles  in  every  direction. 

9.  He  came  now  to  the  crisis  of  his  life,  struggled,  fell  back, 
got  courage  again,  made  another  vigorous  effort,  stood  firm  and 
strong  against  the  heavy  odds,  and  finally  conquered. 

10.  He  walks  rapidly  so  as  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  exercise. 

1 1.  The  general  was  now  compelled  to  take  the  defensive,  having 
been  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  the  fresh  troops  on  the  opposite 
side. 

1 2.  I  should  urge  you  to  come  out  of  your  sick  room,  get  the 
strength  of  this  invigorating  air,  enjoy  this  constant  sunshine,  and 
know  again  what  it  is  to  live,  if  you  were  here. 

1 3.  He  came  upon  me  suddenly  so  that  I  had  no  time  to  avoid 
him  or  to  prepare  for  him. 

14.  We  have  no  opportunity  to  make  money  or  to  spend  money. 

1 5.  Why  should  he  disgrace  himself  and  his  friends  by  getting 
money  in  this  way,  when  he  could  have  whatever  he  needed  by  ask- 
ing for  it  ? 

16.  You  must  act  promptly,  taking  the  risk  of  mistake,  or  else 
you  must  perhaps  let  slip  the  only  opportunity  that  you  will  have  to 
gain  your  object. 

17.  There  are  to  be  accommodations  for  a  larger  attendance  at  the 
next  football  game  than  ever  before,  I  hear. 

18.  The  number  of  subjects  to  be  taught  multiplies,  and  so  must 
the  means  of  instruction  be  increased. 

19.  The  enemies  of  the  public  school  are  in  favor  of  this  measure ; 
the  friends  of  the  school  are  opposed  to  it. 

20.  He  had  the  years  of  youth,  yet  he  had  the  wisdom  of  age. 

Rearrange  the  parts  of  the  following  sentences,  when 
necessary,  in  the  gradation  of  a  Climax. 

1.  It  is  a  hopeless,  wearisome,  painful  undertaking. 

2.  Andrew  fackson  announced,  Washington  feared  and  Jefferson 
foreshadowed  the  danger  of  sectional  divisions. 

3.  All  these  institutions  have  been  subverted,  radically  changed 
and  rudely  shaken. 

4.  He  had  administered  government  and  war  ;  he  had  patronized 


304        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

learning  ;  he  had  preserved  and  extended  an  empire  ;  he  had  founded 
a  polity  ;  he  had  repurchased  the  old  lands  and  rebuilt  the  old  dwell- 
ing. 

5.  By  whose  strong  grip  has  the  corpse  of  a  Republic  once  fallen 
ever  been  raised  ?  Where,  in  what  age  and  in  what  clime  have  the 
ruins  of  constitutional  freedom  renewed  their  youth  and  regained 
their  lost  estate  ? 

6.  Intemperance  has  produced  more  misery,  crime,  want,  distress, 
and  idleness,  than  all  other  causes  put  together. 

7.  He  acted  out  his  plans  in  a  suffering,  loyal,  earnest  life. 

8.  So  great  and  unsullied  a  consecration,  so  signal  an  illustration 
of  the  moral  sublime,  explains  the  profound  feeling  that  attended  the 
death  of  a  man  of  no  official  position,  of  no  literary,  or  scientific,  or 
social  distinction,  and  publicly  known  only  as  an  orator  from  whose 
opinions  there  was  often  general  and  strong  dissent. 

9.  A  man  whose  donations  were  crowns ;  who  raised  himself 
from  obscurity  to  a  crown  ;  who  broke  down  the  awful  barrier  of  the 
Alps  ;  whose  will  was  feared  as  destiny ;  who  changed  the  face  of 
the  world ;  who  was  the  greatest  leader  of  armies  that  modern  his- 
tory has  known,  is  a  man  who  has  taken  out  of  our  hands  the  ques- 
tion whether  he  shall  be  called  great. 

10.  They  entreated  ;  they  expostulated  ;  they  requested. 

11.  The  next  reckoning  day  for  this  world  will  be  set  by  the  Nihilist 
— not  by  the  Puritan  who  put  his  foot  on  the  necks  of  prostrate  kings 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  enfranchising  conscience  and  mak- 
ing an  end  of  star-chambers,  who  feared  God,  loved  liberty,  and 
hated  oppression. 

12.  A  man  learns  that  on  the  whole  it  is  safer  in  the  world  not  to 
shirk  and  hes'itate  and  dodge. 

13.  Where  else  shall  we  find  memorials  of  patriotism  like  the 
corner  where  the  farmers  of  Middlesex  fell  with  withering  fire  upon 
the  Britons  retreating  from  that  bridge ;  the  field  in  which  the 
minute-men  gathered  ;  the  farm  on  which  the  Revolutionary  stores 
were  hidden ;  the  site  of  the  first  church  and  of  the  first  school. 

14.  "  The  days  will  grow  to  weeks,  the  weeks  to  months,  the 
months  will  add  themselves  and  make  the  years,  the  years  will  roll 
into  centuries,  and  mine  will  ever  be  a  name  of  scorn." 

1 5.  In  our  early  struggles,  John  Jay  was  the  conscience,  Jefferson 
was  the  heart,  and  Hamilton  was  the  head. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OE  STYLE  305 

16.  Victory  returned  his  sword,  necessity  stained,  liberty  un- 
sheathed it. 

Change  the  following  sentences,  when  necessary,  to  the 
Antithetic  Structure. 

1.  If  you  regulate  your  desires  according  to  the  standard  of  nat- 
ure, you  will  never  be  poor ;  if  according  to  what  men  think  of  you, 
you  will  never  become  a  possessor  of  wealth. 

2.  Homer  was  the  greater  genius  ;  Virgil  a  poet  of  more  artistic 
merit ;  in  the  one  we  must  admire  the  man  ;  in  the  other  what  the 
man  did.  Homer  hurries  us  with  a  commanding  impetuosity  ;  Vir- 
gil with  his  attractive  majesty  is  more  of  a  leader.  Homer  scatters 
with  a  generous  profusion ;  Virgil  bestows  with  magnificence  and 
yet  with  care. 

3.  "  The  Puritans  hated  bearbaiting,  not  because  it  gave  pain  to 
the  bear  but  because  it  gave  pleasure  to  the  spectator." 

4.  I  love  the  country,  but  for  the  town  I  have  even  hatred. 

5.  The  individual  is  nothing  ;  the  state  represents  every  interest 
and  relation. 

6.  We  measure  genius  by  quality,  not  by  the  amount  of  it. 

7.  Your  general  never  saw  an  army  till  he  was  forty  ;  my  general 
never  saw  the  smallest  part  of  an  army  till  he  was  ten  years  older. 

8.  They  aimed  at  the  rule,  not  at  the  power  to  destroy  their 
country. 

9.  Success  evokes  applause,  but  it  is  silenced  by  defeat. 

10.  Faith  inspiring  to  effort,  and  doubt  which  paralyzes  action, 
contend  for  the  mastery. 

1 1 .  Man  wishes  to  be  happy,  and  has  a  constant  fear  of  being 
miserable. 

12.  A  writer  who  had  the  art  of  being  minute  without  tediousness, 
and  a  general  without  permitting  himself  to  become  confused. 

1 3.  A  dramatist  who  seldom  pierces  the  breast,  but  he  always 
gives  delight  to  the  ear,  and  often  adds  improvement  to  the  under- 
standing. 

14 "  My  wTay  of  life 

Is  fall'n  into  the  sear,  the  yellow  leaf, 
And  that  which  should  accompany  old  age, 
As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends, 
20 


306        RHETORIC,    ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 

I  must  not  look  to  have  ;  but,  in  their  stead, 
Curses,  not  loud  but  deep,  mouth-honor,  breath, 
Which  the  poor  heart  would  fain  deny,  and  dare  not." 

15.  "Let  your  search  and  criticism  always  have  for  its  purpose 
that  you  may  find  that  which  you  may  believe,  not  that  you  may  find 
what  you  need  not  believe." 

16.  The  external  part  of  the  church  has  a  charm  which  the  inward 
has  not. 

1  7.  "  Who  is  the  man  who  has  dared  to  call  into  civilized  alliance 
the  wild  and  inhuman  inhabitant  of  the  woods  ? — to  delegate  to 
the  merciless  Indian  the  defence  of  disputed  rights,  and  to  wage  the 
horrors  of  his  barbarous  war  against  our  brethren  ?  " 

Change  the  structure  of  the  following  sentences  from  the 
declarative  form  to  the  interrogative,  and  from  the  interrog- 
ative to  the  declarative. 

1.  You  would  wish  to  ruin  yourself  in  public  opinion  to  gratify 
your  resentment. 

2.  They  shall  bend  their  neck  to  the  cruel  yoke,  for  the  want  of 
your  help. 

3.  With  undoubted  right  on  my  side,  I  am  to  be  thus  despoiled. 

4.  We  should  suspend  our  resistance,  we  should  submit  to  an 
authority  like  this. 

5.  You  believe  that  the  pure  system  of  Christian  faith  which  ap- 
peared eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  in  one  of  the  obscurest  regions 
of  the  Roman  empire,  at  the  moment  of  the  highest  mental  cultiva- 
tion, and  of  the  lowest  moral  degeneracy,  originated  in  the  unaided 
reflection  of  twelve  Jewish  fishermen  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

6.  Has  tyranny  thus  triumphed  ;  have  the  hopes  with  which  we 
greeted  the  French  Revolution  been  crushed  ;  has  a  usurper  plucked 
up  the  last  roots  of  the  tree  of  liberty  and  planted  despotism  in  its 
place  ? 

7.  Must  I  wound  his  ear  with  the  news  of  your  revolt ;  must  he 
hear  from  me  that  neither  the  soldiers  raised  by  himself,  nor  the 
veterans  who  fought  under  him,  are  willing  to  own  his  authority  ? 

8.  You  are  Christians  ;  and,  by  upholding  duelists,  you  will  de- 
luge the  land  with  blood,  and  fill  it  with  widows  and  orphans. 

9.  You  will  give  your  suffrage  to  this  man,  when  you  know  that 
by  withholding  it,  you  may  arrest  this  deadly  end. 


EXERCISES  IN  ENERGY  OF  STYLE  307 

10.  Does  he  suppose  me  less  capable  of  gratitude  for  his  patriot- 
ism, or  sympathy  for  his  sufferings,  than  if  his  eyes  had  first  opened 
upon  the  light  of  Massachusetts,  instead  of  South  Carolina  ? 

11.  All  the  wealth  of  universal  commerce,  all  the  achievements  of 
successful  heroism,  all  the  establishments  of  this  world's  wisdom, 
cannot  secure  to  the  empire  the  permanency  of  its  possessions. 

12.  A  title  deed  like  this  ought  to  become  the  acquisition  of  the 
nation. 

13.  Was  it  the  winter's  storm  beating  upon  the  houseless  heads  of 
women  and  children,  was  it  disease,  was  it  the  tomahawk,  was  it  the 
deep  malady  of  a  blighted  hope,  a  ruined  enterprise  and  a  broken 
heart  aching  in  its  last  moments  at  the  recollection  of  the  loved  and 
left  beyond  the  sea,  was  it  some,  or  all  of  these  united,  that  hurried 
this  forsaken  company  to  their  melancholy  fate  ? 

14.  You  are  a  scholar,  and  the  land  of  the  Muses  shall  ask  your 
help  in  vain. 

15.  You  are  a  mother,  rejoicing  in  all  the  charities  of  domestic 
life ;  you  are  a  daughter  rich  and  safe  in  conscious  innocence  and 
parental  love,  and  thousands  among  the  purest  and  loveliest  of  your 
sex  shall  glut  the  markets  of  the  Orient,  and  be  doomed  to  a  fate  in- 
conceivably worse  than  death. 

16.  This  is  then  the  genuine  fruit  of  the  pious  care  of  our  ances- 
tors for  the  security  and  propagation  of  religion  and  good  manners 
to  the  latest  posterity. 

17.  The  miseries  of  man  are  in  contemplation. 

18.  The  farmer  in  cultivating  his  lands,  the  mariner  navigating  his 
vessel  on  the  ocean,  professional  men  in  their  various  pursuits,  con- 
tribute as  really  as  the  statesman  in  his  cabinet  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  country. 


INDEX 


Abbreviations,  210 
"  Ability  "  and  "  capacity,"  265 
Abruptness,  obscurity  from,  107 
Abstract  words  used  for  concrete,  103  ; 

and  concrete  words,  exercises,  283 
Accuracy,  philosophical.  66 
"  Adherence  "  and  "  adhesion,"  265 
Adjectives  and  adverbs,  arrangement 

of,  in  ;  errors  in  use  of,  examples, 

283 
"  Admire,"  229 
Adverbs  and  adjectives,  arrangement 

of,  in  ;  errors  in  use  of,  examples, 

283 
Affectation  of  unnaturalness,  197 
Affectations,  literary,  167 
Aim  of  discourse,  necessity  of  interest 

in,  200 
Alison,   A.,   faulty   construction,   108, 

in,    120  ;    testimony   to   English 

language,  43 
"Alone  "  and  "  only,"  265 
"  Alonely,"  19 
Alternative,  hypothetically  expressed, 

118 
"  Alternative,"  230 
Ambiguous  words,  dangers  from,  102 
American  and  English  usage,  217 
Americanisms,  35  ;  exercises  on,  214 
Americans  should  use  pure  English,  45 
"  Among  "  and  "  between,"  265 
Anacoluthon,  120 
Analogies,  73  ;    variety  of,  desirable, 

188 
"  Ancient "  and  "  antiquated,"  265 
"  And"  beginning  sentences,  150 


"Anon,"  230 

"Antiquated"  and  "ancient,"  265 
Antithesis,  157  ;  exercises  in,  305 
Apathetic  style  unnatural,  195 
Aphoristic  style  obscure,  146 
Apologetic  style  unnatural,  195 
Apostrophe  an  aid  to  energy,  162 
"  Apparent  "  and  "  obvious,"  266 
"Apprehend"    and    "comprehend," 

266 
"Apprehensive,"  266 
Archaisms,  to  be  used,  when,  20 
Arnold,  Dr.,    on   popular   condensed 

style,  142 
"  As,"  230 

Audience  in  mind  when  writing,  129 
"  Averse  from  "  vs.  "  averse  to,"  266 
"  Awful,"  230 

Barbarism  of  style,  10,  23 

"  Base,"  230 

"  Bayonets  think,"  139 

Beautiful  in  nature  and  in  character, 

167 
Beauty  an  ultimate  conception,  164 
Beauty,  excessive,  not  elegant,  169 
"  Belittle,"  230 

"  Beside  "  and  "  besides,"  266 
11  Betrayal,"  vs.  "  betray ment,"  266 
"  Between  "  and  "among,"  265 
Bible,  purity  of  style,  38  ;  heaven  and 

hell  presented  specifically  in,  137 
Blundering  constructions,  65,  254 
Boyle,  Roche,  blunders  of,  94 
Brimley,  G  ,  obscurity  of,  90 
Bryant,  W.  C,  30 


3io 


INDEX 


Burke,  E.,  diatribe  against  metaphy- 
sicians, ioo  ;  effective  diffusive- 
ness in  description,  146  ;  his  style 
made  easy  things  difficult,  92  ;  idea 
of  beauty,  165  ;  too  elaborately 
precise,  66 

,l  Calculate"  for  "  think,"  231 
California,  Spanish  words  in,  47 
"  Can  but  "  vs.  "  cannot  but,"  231 
Cant  and  slang,  exercises  in,  222 
"  Capacity  "  and  "  ability,"  265 
Carlyle,  degrading  effect  of  German 
studies  on  his  style,  52  ;  reckless- 
ness as  to  style,  28 
"  Caucus,"  35 

Chalmers,  T.,  faulty  construction,  108 
"  Chastity  "  and  "  chasteness,"  267 
China,  concise  description  of,  142 
Chinook  dialect,  46 
Choate,  R.,  command  of  etymological 
meaning  of  word,  63  ;  command  of 
language,  71 ;  sources  of  his  fine 
diction,  75 
"  Christen  "  for  "  baptize,"  267 
"  Christianization,"  231 
"  Christless,"  231 

Cicero,  failure  to  improve  language, 29 
Circumlocution,  examples  of,  for  cor- 
rection, 297  ;  of  thought,  143  ;  ob- 
scurity from,  107 
Climax,  157  ;  exercises  in  use  of,  303 
Cobbett,  W.,  on  use  of  "  it,"  56 
"Coeval"   and   "contemporaneous," 

267 
Coleridge,  S.   T.,  neologisms,  27,  29, 
30  ;  on  capacity  of  language,  91  ; 
on   connectives,    58 ;     on    empty 
thought,  68 
Colloquialisms,  49  ;  exercises  in,  219 
Colonization  and  commerce,  English, 

the  language  of,  43 
Combinations    of   words,  many    pos- 
sible, 113 
Command  of  language,  70,  71  ;  an  ac- 
quisition, 76 


"  Common  "  and  "  mutual,"  272 
Commonplace  in  imagery,  175 
"  Community,''  231 
Comparison,  errors  in,  248 
"Compassionate,"      "pitiful,"     and 

"  piteous,"  272 
Composition,  scholarly  care  in,  52 
Compound   words,    231  ;    barbarous, 

25 

"Comprehend"  and  "apprehend," 
266 

"Concept,"  21;  and  "conception," 
267 

Conciseness,  affected,  145  ;  an  element 
of  force,  139;  excessive,  64,  104; 
examples  of,  298 

Concrete  and  abstract  words,  exer- 
cises, 283 

Concreteness  essential  to  oral  dis- 
course, 197 

"  Conditioned,"  231 

"  Conduct,"  231 

"Conform  with"  vs.  "conform  to," 
267 

Conjunctive  beginnings,  care  in,  150 

Connectives,  errors  in  use  of,  57,  251  ; 
exercises  in  use  of,  301 

Construction,  blunders  in,  254  ;  clear- 
ness of,  107  ;  extreme  care  in,  122  ; 
loose,  destroys  precision,  67  ;  of  sen- 
tence and  energy,  148 

Constructions,  inelegant,  173 

"Contemporaneous"  and  "coeval," 
267 

"  Continual  "  and  "  continuous,"  267 

Contractions,  23,  210 

Contrast,  usefulness  of,  158 

Conversation  and  public  speaking,  dif- 
ferent styles  in,  135  ;  freedom  of 
style  in,  49 

Cowper,  H.  Miller's  criticism  of,  70 

Creation  of  new  words,  23 

Critical  study  of  language,  72 

dishing,  Caleb,  command  of  English, 

75 
"  Custom,"  "  habit,"  "  usage,"  270 


INDEX 


311 


"  Decided "  vs.  "decisive,"  268 

"  Declension,"  233 

"  Deed,"  233 

"  Deicide,"  28 

"  Deity,"  233 

Delicacy  an  element  of  elegance,  164  ; 
and  vividness,  181 

■'  Delicious  "  vs.  "  delightful,"  268 

Delight  in  writing  a  source  of  ease, 
203 

Delivery,  period  effective  in,  153  ; 
variety  of,  188  ;  and  style,  recipro- 
cal effect  of,  188 

"  Delusion"  vs.  "  illusion,"  268 

Demosthenes  and  Cicero  contrasted, 

147 

Dependent  clauses,  bungling  con- 
struction of,  173 

"Depravity"  and  ''depravation,"  268 

"  Deputize,"  233 

DeQuincey,  T.,  early  "penury  of 
words,"  76  ;  on  grammatical  faults 
of  most  writers,  56  ;  style  injured 
by  archaisms,  22;  intemperate 
style  of,  132  ;  use  of  slang,  51 

Description,  concise,  142 

Descriptive  writing  sometimes  marred 
by  conciseness,  146 

"  Desk  "  for  "  pulpit,"  233 

Dialects,  46 

"  Diction  "  and  "  style,"  268 

Dictionaries,  discreet  use  of,  52 

"  Differ  with  "  vs.  "  differ  from,"  268 

Diffuseness,  excessive,  103;  sometimes 
required,  145 

Digression,  119 

"  Disbelief"  and  "  unbelief,"  268 

Discrimination  in  thinking,  68 

Distention  causes  obscurity,  104 

Distinctness  of  thought,  1S1 

Diversities  in  style,  natural,  166     ^ 

Dogmatic  style,  194 

"  Donate,"  233 

"Don't,"  233 

Douglas,  S.  A.,  on  classical  education, 
45 


"  Doxologize,"  234 

Drama,  Greek  love  of,  185 

Dramatic  quality  of  oral  discourse,  198 

"  Drouth,"  234 

"  Drive  "  and  "  ride,"  273 

"  Effectuate,"  234 

Effeminacy  not  elegance,  166;  of  taste 
a  token  of  decay,  178 

Elegance  of  style,  7,  164  ;  and  energy, 
176;  promoted  by  precision,  82 

Ellipsis,  excessive  or  careless,  117 ; 
examples  of  erroneous,  249,  290 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  obscure  conciseness 
of,  146  ;  over-conciseness  of,  64 

Emphatic  clauses,  wrong  arrangement 
in,  116 

Emphatic  sentence,  growth  of,  69 

Emphatic  words,  location  of,  149 

"  Endow  "  and  "  endue,"  269 

''  Energize,"  234 

Energy  of  style,  7,  124;  means  of,  134  ; 
exercises  in,  292 

"  England  "  for  "  Britain,"  234 

English  language,  excellence  of,  41  ; 
rapid  spread,  42  ;  three  kinds  of, 
16 

English  poetry,  39 

English  temperament,  166 

Enthusiasm  requisite  for  forcible  wilt- 
ing, 127  ;  unbalanced,  131  ;  vs. 
"  fanaticism,"  269 

Epitaphs,  blundering,  116 

"  Epoch,"  and  "  era,"  269 

Erasmus,  wedded  to  Latin,  n 

Errors  in  use  of  prepositions,  223  ; 
miscellaneous,  exercises  on,  224  ; 
in  comparison,  exercises  on,  24S  ; 
in  the  use  of  verbs,  from  ellipsis, 
249;  in  use  of  tenses,  249;  in  use 
of  moods,  250;  in  use  of  the  sub- 
junctive, 250  ;  in  use  of  connec- 
tives, 251  ;  in  use  of  synonyms, 
251  ;  in  use  of  pronouns,  283  ;  of 
adjectives  and  adverbs,  284  ;  of 
qualifying  clauses,  287  ;  in  order  of 


312 


INDEX 


thought,    288  ;  in   use   of  ellipsis, 
290  ;  in  introduction  of  irrelevant 
matter,  291 
"  Eternal  "  and  ''  everlasting,"  269 
Etymology,    misleading,    33 ;   neglect 

of,  63 
"  Evangelization,"  234 
"  Eventuate,"  234 

Everett,  E.,  never  employed   contrac- 
tions, 23  ;  style  in  conversation,  50 
"  Everlasting  "  and  ''  eternal,"  269 
"  Except  "  and  "  unless,"  270 
Exclamation  an  aid  to  energy,  101 
"  Exhumate,"  234 
Expansions   of  words,  24  ;    exercises, 

211 
"  Expect"  for  "  think,"  234 
Expression,  excessive  care  for,  69 
Extemporaneous      and     written     dis- 
course, 135 
Extemporaneous    speech,  period    in, 

153 
"  Extreme,"  234 
Eye,  appeal  to,  in  oratory,  99 

Facetiously  coined  words,  24 

"  Fall"  for  "  autumn,"  234 

'■  Falsehood"  for  "  falseness,"  270 

"  Fancy  "  and  "  imagination,"  270 

"  Fellowship,"  234 

Feminine  qualities  of  thought,  165 

Figurative  language  and  energy,  156  ; 
exercises,  275 

Figurative  uses,  73 

Figurative  and  literal  use  of  same 
word,  60 

Figure,  excessive  use  of,  60 

Figures  of  speech,  right  use  of,  162 

Finical  imagery,  175 

"  Firstly  "  for  "  first,"  235 

Fitness  of  expression  to  subject,  193 

"  Fix,"  235 

'•  Fixity  "  /or  "  fixedness,"  235 

Fontenelle's  rule  "  to  understand  my- 
self," 89 

Force,  purity  of  style  imparts,  39 


Forcible    composition     and    thought, 

125  ;  conditions  of,  128 
Foreign  words,  importation  of,  32 
Foster,  J.,  method  of,   93;    quotation 

from,  81 
Fox,   C.   J.,  speaking  in   Parliament, 

189 
Froude,  obscurity  of  style,  118 

General  words  used  for  specific,  103 
Generic  and  specific  words,  exercises, 

280 
"  Genius  "  vs.  "  talents,"  270 
German  writers,  corrupting  effect  on 

English,  51 
German  construction,  119,  154 
Gibbon,  misplacement  of  "  only,"  112 
"  Gift"  as  a  verb,  235 
God,  name  of,  as  apostrophe,  162 
"  Gospel"  as  an  adjective,  235 
Gough,   J.    B. ,   power  in   pantomime, 

105 
Gray's   Elegy,  possible   transpositions 

of  words,  113 
Grimm,  Jacob,  on  English  language, 

4i 

Grote,  neologisms,  27 

"  Guess,"  inelegance  of,  172 

Guizot,  F.,   testimony  to  English  lan- 
guage, 42 

"  Habit,"  "  custom,"  "  usage,"  270 
Hall,    R.,    subjection    to    Johnsonian 

dialect,  70 
Hallam,  on  misplaced  inflections,  57 
"  Happify,"  235 
"  Hardy  "  and  "  rugged,"  273 
"  Haste  "  and  "  hurry,"  270 
Heart-beats,  power   of,   if  combined, 

129 
"  Heavenly-mindedness,"  235 
"  Healthy  "  and  "  healthful,"  62,  270 
Hearers,  fitness  of  expression  to,  194 
"  Heaven  "  as  synonym  of  "  God,"  235 
Henry,    Patrick,    and   colloquial    dia- 
lect, 17 


INDEX 


313 


"  Hope  "  for  "hope  for,"  235 
"  How  ?  "  235 
"  Humbug,"  14 
"  Humility,"  20 
"  Hurry  "  and  "  haste,"  270 
Hyperbole  an  aid  to  energy,  161 ;  may 
assist  precision,  82 

"  Idiot,"  19 

Illiterate,  influence  of,  on  speech,  45 

"  Illusion  "  vs.  "  delusion,"  26S 

Illustration,  variety  in,  187 

"Illy"  for  "ill,"  236 

Imagery,  96,  97  ;  and  figure  not  iden- 
tical, 156  ;  commonplace  in,  175  ; 
easy  command  of,  183  ;  inelegance 
of,  174 

"  Imagination  "  and  "  fancy,"  270 

Imitation,  servile,  69 

Immigrants  to  U.  S.,  effects  on  lan- 
guage, 46 

"  Imperative  "  and  "  imperious,"  271 

"  Implicit,"  236 

Impressiveness  and  energy,  124 

Impropriety  of  style,  10 

"  In  spite  of,"  271 

"  Inaugurate,"  236 

"  Incident  "  for  "  liable,"  237 

Indefinite  thought,  energy  not  adapted 
to,  126 

Indiscriminate  thinking,  68 

Individuality  of  style,  7 

Inelegance,  Macaulay's  effective,  174 

Inelegant  constructions,  173 

Inelegant  language,  171 

Inflections,  misplaced,  57 

Intemperance  of  style,  131,  132 

"  Intend  "  for  "  mean,"  237 

Intensity  may  be  diffuse,  147 

Interest  in  aim  of  discourse,  200 

Interrogation  an  aid  to  energy,  158 

Inversion,  misplaced  or  excessive,  173 

Inverted  sentence,  117 

Involuted  style,  58 

Irony,  161 

"  Irreligionist,"  237 


Irrelevant  matter,  introduction  of,  121 ; 

examples,  291 
Irving,  W. ,  style  in  conversation,  50 
"  It,"  errors  in  use  of,  56,  248 
"  Ize,"  words  in,  24 

"  Jeopardize,"  237 

Johnson,  Dr.,  Latinized  style,  32  ;  on 
The  Rehearsal,  138  ;  style,  criti- 
cised by  Hazlitt,  187  ;  two  styles 

of,  135 
Journalists,  new  words  by,  29 

Kant,  long  sentence  by,  119 

Language,  love  of,  39 

"  Lay  "  and  "  lie,"  237 

"  Learn  "  for  "  teach,"  271 

"  Lengthy,"  237 

"  Lethal  weapons,"  101 

"  Lieve  "  for  "  lief,"  237 

"  Like''  and  "love,"  271 

Lincoln,  A.,  method  of,  in  debate,  93 

Literatures,  national,  decline  of,  178 

Long  and   short  words,    exercises   in 

use  of,  292 
"  Long  "  as  a  noun,  237 
Loose  style,  causes  of,  68 
Lord's  Prayer,  purity  of  style,  40 
Loring,    C.    G.,    faulty    construction, 

109 
"  Love  "  and  "  like,''  271 
Lowell,   J.    R. ,    neologisms,    30;    on 

archaisms,  20 
Luther,  "  Reformation  of,"  102 

Macaulay,  T.  B. ,  effective  use  of  de- 
tailed description,  147  ;  omission 
of  words,  55 

Mason,  Jeremiah,  method  with  juries, 

159 
Mastering  subjects  of  discourse,  habit 

of,  199 
Mastery  of  words,  72 
Maurice,  F.  D. ,  on   hidden   meanings 

in  words,  72 


314 


INDEX 


"  Mean  "  for  "  means,"  237 
"Memories"     for     "reminiscences," 

271 
"  Methinks,"  237 
Michael     Angelo,    picture    of    Virgin 

Mary,  194 
"  Mighty  "  for  "  very,"  238 
"  Militate  with,"  238 
Milton,  J.,  angels   not   described  by, 

127 ;    neologisms,   29,    32 ;    prose 

style,    58  ;     use    of    antithesis   in 

Paradise    Lost,    158;  vocabulary 

limited,  78 
"  Missionate,"  238 
"  Moment  "  and  "  minute,"  271 
Mongrel  imagery,  176 
Monotony  of  construction,  107,  186 
Moods  and  tenses  of  verbs,  56 ;  errors 

in  use  of,  250 
Moore,  Thomas,  getting  his  word,  74 
"  Moot,"  238 
"  Mutual  "  and  "  common,"  272 

Napoleon,  intensity  of  his  thinking,  89 

National  usage,  15 

Naturalness  of  style,  7,  192 

Negligence  in  construction,  123 

Neologisms,  dictionaries  of,  14 

"Nervous,"  102 

New  words,  exercises  with,  212  ;  prin- 
ciples governing,  27 

New  York  State,  Dutch  and  Welsh 
in,  46,  47 

"  News,"  238 

Newspaper,  condensed  style  demand- 
ed for,  142 

Niagara  Falls,  beauty  and  sublimity 
of,  177 

"Nice,"  238 

"  No,"  "  whether  or,"  238 

Noah  entering  the  ark,  101 

Northwestern  U.  S.,  foreign  languages 

in,  47 
"  Notify,"  238 
Number  of  words,  energy  dependent 

on, 139 


Object  in  view  required  for  forcible 
style,  129 

"  Obligate,"  238 

Obscurity  from  absence  of  thought, 
87  ;  from  vague  thought,  88  ;  from 
affectation,  90 ;  from  profound- 
ness, 92  ;  from  rapidity  of  thought, 
94  ;  how  removed,  101 

"Observation"  and  "observance," 
272 

Obsolescent  words,  20  ;  and  moral  de- 
cay, 21 

Obsolete  words,  19 

Omission  of  words,  55 

"  One,  the,  and  the  other,"  118 

"  Only  "  and  "  alone,"  265  ;  misplace- 
ment of,  112 

Onomatopoetic  style,  138 ;  examples, 
294 

"  Onto,"  239 

"  Open  up,"  239 

Oral  delivery,  excessive  precision  in, 
66 

Order,  excessive,  173 

Order  of  thought,  wrong,  116;  ex- 
amples, 288 

Ornament,  elegance  not  simply,  16C 

Orthography,  similar,  dangers  from,  62 

"  Ought,"  239 

"  Painful,"  20 

Parenthesis,  abuse  of,  119 

Park,  Professor,  on  barbarisms,  23 

Passionate  style,  131 

"  Paternal  "  and  "  fatherly,"  272 

Paul,  St.,  antithetical  passage  from, 
158 

Periodic  structures,  152 ;  abuse  of,  153  ; 
exercises  in,  302 

Perspicuity,  7,  17  ;  purity  of  style,  an 
aid  to,  38  ;  distinguished  from  pre- 
cision, 54  ;  as  affected  by  imagery, 
96  ;  affected  by  words  of  discourse, 
100  ;  affected  by  construction,  107  ; 
energy  not  same  as,  124  ;  exercises 
in,  275 


INDEX 


315 


Philosophy,  study  of,  affects  language, 

9i 
Pierrepont,  Judge,  in  trial  of  Surratt, 

99 
"Pitiful,"   "piteous,"  and  "compas- 
sionate,'' 272 
"  Pity  "  and  "  sympathy,"  273 
"  Plead"  as  preterite,  239 
"  Plenty  "  for  "  plentiful,"  239 
"  Plowman  homeward  plods,"  etc.,  18 

ways  of  reading,  113 
Poetry,  obsolete  words  in,  21 
Political  parties'  watchwords,  85 
Population  of  the  world,  vastness  il- 
lustrated, 127 
Portrait,     unconsciousness     essential 

to,  8 
Position  of  words,  relative,  113,  114 
Practice  in  composition,  202 
Prayer,  Book  of  Common,  tautological 

phrases  in,  140 
Prayer,  obsolete  words  in,  22 
Precision  of  style,  7  ;  defined,  54  ;  vio- 
lations of,  55,  60  ;    foundation  of, 
in  thought,   68  ;    inducements  to, 
79;   not  pedantic,    80;  promotes 
clearness    and   energy,    81  ;    pro- 
motes elegance,  82  ;  approved  for 
its  own  sake,  84  ;  a  popular  style, 
84  ;  exercises  in,  248 
"  Predicate  "  for  "  found,"  239 
"  Prejudices,"  20 
Prepositions    ending    sentence,    149 ; 

errors  in  use  of,  223 
"  Prevent,"  33 
"  Pride  "  and  "  vanity,"  272 
Prior,  M. ,  faulty  construction,  108 
"  Profanity''  and  "  profaneness,"  240 
"  Professor  "     for     "  communicant," 

240 
"  Progress"  as  a  verb,  240 
Prolific  writers  natural  writers,  202 
Pronouns  and  antecedents,  108  ;  repe- 
tition with  different    antecedents, 
108 ;   errors  in   use,  examples  of, 
283 


Propriety  distinguished  from  pre- 
cision, 54 

Provincialisms,  35 ;  English,  38 ;  in 
America,  46 

Prussian  dictionary.  Government,  13 

Public  speakers  use  limited  vocabu- 
lary, 77  ;  successful,  92 

Public  speaking,  pure  English  adapted 
to,  40 

Pure  words  an  aid  to  energy,  134 

Purism,   11 

Purity  of  style,  7  ;  defined,  10  ;  stand- 
ard of,  11  ;  violations  of,  19  ; 
reasons  for  cultivating,  37  ;  an  es- 
sential of  culture,  48  ;  how  ac- 
quired, 49  ;  exercises  in,  209 

Qualifying  clauses,  arrangement  of, 
114  ;  examples  of  errors  in  use  of, 
287 

Qualifying  words,  excess  of,  141 

Quincy,  Josiah,  fine-spun  oratory,  200 

Quintilian  on  precision,  79 

"  Quite  "  for  "  very,"  240 

"  Quiz,"  origin  of,  12 

"  Raise,"  240 

Randolph,  J.,  hyperbole  of,  82 
Rapidity  of  speech,  dangers  from,  94 
■'Rather,"  "had,"  or   "would"  pre- 
ceding, 240 
''  Rational"  for  "  reasonable,"  273 
Reading,    classic   English   to  be  pre- 
ferred, 51 
Redundancy,  excessive,  65 
Refinement  of  perception,  169 
Reinhard,  on  use  of  pronouns,  110 
"  Reluct,"  "  reluctate,"  240 
''  Remorse,"  240 
''  Remove,  an  infinite,"  241 
Republican  institutions  favor  debase- 
ment of  language,  45 
"  Resentment,"  19 
''  Retrospcet  "  as  a  verb,  241 
Richter,  J    P.,  variety  of  illustrations, 
188 


3i6 


INDEX 


"  Ride"  and  "  drive,"  273 
"  Rugged  "  and  "  hardy,"  273 

"Sang,"  241 

"  Save  "  for  "  except,"  241 

Saxon  and  Norman  synonyms,  140 

Saxon  element  in  English,  40 

Saxon  style,  100  ;  strength  of,  134 

Saxon  words,  52  ;  when  not  to  be  used, 

136  ;  substituted  for  Latin  or  Greek 

derivatives,  exercises,  279 
Scott,    Walter,  use    of   colloquialism 

new  to  him,  74 
"  Scripturality,"  241 
"  Security  "  and  "  safety,"  273 
Self-forgetfulness  in  composing,  200 
"  Self-love  "  and  "  selfishness,"  273 
Self-possession  essential  to  eloquence, 

130  ;  consistent  with  heat  of  style, 

148 
"  Selfsame,"  241 
Sensitiveness  of  feeling,  182 
"  Sensual  "  and  "  sensuous,"  273 
Sentence,  ending  of,  149 
Shakespeare,  vocabulary  limited,  78  ; 

fertility  of  his  mind,  203 
"  Shall  "and  "  will,"  241 
"Shew"  for  "  shewed,"  242 
Short   words  an  aid   to   energy,  137  ; 

abuse   of,  138  ;    and   long  words, 

exercises  in  use  of,  292 
"  Shortcomings,"  242 
Shylock,    example     of   interrogative 

style,  160 
"Sidehill,"  242 
Simplicity    of   language    essential  to 

vividness,  183 ;  in  construction  of 

sentences,  198 
Slang,  36,  50  ;  popular,  84  ;  examples, 

222 
Smallness  not  essential  to  beauty,  165 
Solecism  of  style,  10 
*'  Solemnize,"  242 
Soliloquy,  oral  discourse  in,  130 
"  Some  "  for  "  somewhat,"  242 
"  Soul  "  compounds  with,  242 


Southey,  R.,  and  "  deicide,"  28  ;  rules 

of  composition,  80 
"  Spake,"  241 

Spanish  language,  prevalence  of,  42 
Specific  words   an  aid  to  energy,  136  ; 

and  generic  words,  exercises,  280 
Spencer,  H.,  theory  of  style,  104,  122 
Spenser,  E. ,   Faerie  Queene,  archaic 

style  of,  22  ;  compared  with  Bible, 

38 

"  Spiritual-mindedness,"  242 

"  Sprang,"  241 

Standards  of  English  usage,  17 

"  Station  "  vs.  "  depot,"  242 

Stormont,  Lord,  style  of,  in  Parlia- 
ment, 189 

"  Stricken  "  for  "  struck,"  242 

Strutting  in  discourse,  195 

Studied  beauty,  178 

Style,  defined,  3 ;  popular  concep- 
tions of,  4 ;  is  thought,  6  ;  quali- 
ties of,  6,  7  ;  and  delivery,  recipro- 
cal effect  of,  188;  and  "diction," 
268 

Subjects  of  discourse,  fitness  of  ex- 
pression to,  193 

Subjunctive,  use  of,  56  ;  examples  of 
wrong  use,  250 

Sumner,  C,  classical  allusions  in 
speeches,  97 

"  Sundown,"  243 

"  Sympathy,"  63  ;  and  "  pity,"  273 

Synonyms,  confounding  of,  60  ;  knowl- 
edge of,  necessary,  73  ;  errors  in 
use  of,  251  ;  lists  of,  255,  260 

"  Systemize,"  243 

"Talent"  vs.  "talents,"  243;  vs. 
"  genius,"  270 

Tautology  and  conciseness,  140 ;  ex- 
amples of,  for  correction,  295 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  learned  style  of,  97 

"  Telegram,"  30 

"  Temper  "  for  "  anger,"  243 

Tenses  and  moods,  56 ;  errors  in  use 
of,  249 


INDEX 


317 


''  Thalagram,"  30 

"  Thanks  !  "  243 

"  That''  for  "  thus,"  244 

"  The,''  omission  of,  273 

"  Then  "  used  adjectively,  244 

"  This  ''  for  "  thus,"  244 

Thought,  quickness  of,  142 

Tonic  effect  of  qualifying  word,  143 

"  Transpire,"  244 

"  Ugly  "  for  "  ill-natured,"  244 

"  Un-"  244 

"  Unbeknown,"  244 

"  Unbelief  "  and  "  disbelief,"  268 

Uncouth  words,  171 

"  Undertaker,"  62 

Unfinished  imagery,  175 

Unimportant  thought,  energy  not 
adapted  to,  126 

"  Unless  "  and  "  except,"  270 

"  Unreason,"  244 

"  Unwisdom,"  244 

Usage  vs.  learning,  11 ;  the  ultimate 
standard,  12;  national,  15  ;  as  in- 
fluenced by  laws  of  a  language, 
15  ;  must  be  reputable,  16  ;  stand- 
ards of,  17  ;  "habit,"  "custom," 
270 

Vagueness,  remedy  for,  89 

"  Vanity  "  and  "  pride,"  272 

"  Variate,"  245 

Variety  essential  to  beauty,  184  ;  in 
method  of  discussion,  185  ;  in  con- 
struction, 186;  in  illustration,  187 


Verboseness  and  conciseness,  141  ; 
scholastic,  142  ;  as  to  certain  pnrts 
of  speech,  143  ;  examples  of,  295 

Versatility  of  thought,  185 

Vision,  figure  of,  an  aid  to  energy, 
161 

Vivacity  and  energy,  124 

Vividness  an  element  of  elegance, 
180 

Vocabulary,  extensive,  not  command 
of  language,  70;  retentive  control 
of,  necessary,  74  ;  not  necessarily 
large,  77  ;  of  children,  77  ;  of  pub- 
lic speakers,  77 

Vulgarisms,  35 

"  Was  "  for  "  were  "  with  "  you,"  245 
Webster,  D.,  use  of  colloquialisms,  49  ; 
command  of  language,  71  ;  ques- 
tionable use  of  relative  pronoun, 
no  ;  self-possession,  132 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  style  affected  by 

fame,  8 
"  Were  "  for  "  was,"  245 
Whately  on  vacuity  of  style,  88 
Whitefield  and  the  sailor,  198 
"Whole  "for ''all,"  245 
Wise,  H.  A.,  mixed  imagery  of,  96 
Words    condemned    by   critics,    217 ; 

confounded,  list  of,  263 
Wordsworth,    W.,    on    obscurity    of 
style,  93  ;  poetry  of,  elegance  in, 
168  ;  inelegancies  used  by,  172 

Zest  in  writing,  203 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 


Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
following  list  of  books.  Many  of  them  have  become  widely  known 
and  are  generally  recognized  as  the  leading  authorities.  Several  have 
recently  been  issued  and  an  acquaintance  with  these  will  be  found 
particularly  desirable. 

No  pains  have  been  spared  in  securing  the  ablest  authors,  as  well 
as  the  ones  best  fitted  by  experience  in  teaching,  to  understand  the 
needs  which  are  constantly  being  felt. 

These  books  can  be  examined  by  teachers  without  expense,  and  the 
terms  enabling  this  will  always  be  cheerfully  quoted  upon  request. 

EARLY   ENGLISH   REPRINTS 

Edited  with  Introduction  and  Notes  by  Edward  Arber.     Stiff  paper 
covers,  i6mo. 

Addison's  Criticisms  of  Paradise  Lost.     50  cents  net. 
Bacon's  Harmony  of  the  Essayes.     $2.50  net. 
More's  Eutopia.     50  cents  net. 
Milton's  Areopagitica.     25  cents  net. 
Sidney's  Apologie  for  Poetrie.     25  cents  net. 

A  complete  list  of  these  and  the  twenty-five  additional  volumes 
will  be  sent  on  application. 


ENGLISH  COMPOSITION 

Eight  Lectures  delivered  at  the  Lowell  Institute.     By  Barrett  Wen- 
dell, Professor  of  English  in  Harvard  College.      i2mo,  $1.50. 

Contents:  I.  Introduction  to  the  Elements  and  Qualities  of  Style 
in  General — II.  Words — III.  Sentences — IV.  Paragraphs — V.  Whole 
Compositions — VI.   Clearness — VII.    Force — VIII.   Elegance. 

Professor  Wendell  has  now  given  to  the  public  the  means  of  obtain- 
ing results  in  teaching  English,  similar  to  those  which  have  charac- 
terized his  remarkably  successful  work  in  Harvard  College.  Accuracy, 
ease,  and  grace  in  writing  are  the  natural  results  of  this  author's 
method.  A  large  amount  of  practice  is  required  in  accordance  with 
the  simple  and  practical  suggestions  of  the  book. 

"  I  have  used  this  work  with  success,  and  shall  continue  to  use  it." 

—Prof.  F.  H.  Stoddard,  University  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

"The  best  thing  of  its  kind  I  have  ever  seen."— Principal  Albert  Hale,  Boston. 

'  Admirable    .    .    .    I  shall  recommend  it  to  my  students  in  oratory." 

— Prof.  T.  C.  Trueblood,  University  of  Michigan. 


OUTLINES   OF   ENGLISH    LITERATURE 

By  William    Renton,   Lecturer  to  the  Scottish  Universities.     i2mo, 
with  diagrams,  $1.00  net. 

Contents:  First  Period  [600-1600],  pages  9-112:  I.  The  Old 
English  Metric  and  Chronicle  [600-1350],  a.  Anglo-Saxon  :  b.  Anglo- 
Norman— II.  The  Renascence  [1350-1500]— III.  The  Reformation 
[1550-1600] — IV.  The  Romantic  Drama  [1550-1650].  Second  Period 
[1600-1900],  pages  132-232— V.  The  Serious  Age  [1600- 1700]— VI.  The 
Age  of  Gaiety  [1650-1750]— VII.  The  Sententious  Age  [1700-1800]— 
VIII.  The  Sympathetic  Age  [1800-1900]— Appendix  :  Literature  of 
America  [1600-1900]— Index  :  Conspectus  of  British  and  American 
Poetry. 

The  general  arrangement  of  the  book  and  valuable  diagrams  showing  the  division 
of  literature  according  to  ages  and  characteristics  combine  to  make  this  manual  es- 
pecially fitted  to  use  in  the  class-room. 

Criticism  is  supplemented  by  exposition,  with  extracts  to  exhibit  the  fashion  of 
a  period,  or  the  style  of  a  master.  The  number  of  authors  indicates  the  importance  of 
a  period,  and  intrinsic  power  the  importance  of  an  author.  American  literature  is 
considered  as  a  part  of  the  whole,  but  a  brief  summary  of  its  history  and  general 
characteristics  is  also  given. 


THE   ENGLISH   NOVEL 

Being  a  Short  Sketch  of  its  History  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the 
Appearance  of  Waverley.  By  Walter  Raleigh,  Professor  of 
Modern  Literature  at  University  College,  Liverpool.  i2mo,  $1.25 
net. 

Contents  :  I.  The  Romance  and  the  Novel— II.  The  Elizabethan 
Age:  Euphues— III.  The  Elizabethan  Age:  Sidney  and  Nash— IV. 
The  Romance  of  the  Seventeenth  Century — V.  The  Beginnings  of  the 
Modern  Novel — VI.  Richardson  and  Fielding — VII.  The  Novels  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century— VIII.  The  Revival  of  Romance— IX.  The 
Novel  of  Domestic  Satire:  Miss  Burney,  Miss  Austin,  Miss  Edgeworth 
— X.  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

This  book  furnishes  critical  studies  of  the  work  of  the  chief  English  novelists 
before  Scott,  connected  by  certain  general  lines  of  reasoning  and  speculation  on  the 
nature  and  development  of  the  novel.  Most  of  the  material  has  been  given  by  the 
author  in  the  form  of  lectures  to  his  classes,  and  possesses  the  merit  of  being  specially 
prepared  for  use  in  the  class-room. 


THE  JACOBEAN   POETS 

By  Edmund   Gosse,  Hon.  M.A.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.     121110, 
$1.00  net. 

This  little  volume  is  an  attempt  to  direct  critical  attention  to  all  that  was  notable 
in  English  poetry  from  1603-1625.  It  is  the  first  book  to  concentrate  attention  on  the 
poetry  produced  during  the  reign  of  James  I.  Many  writers  appear  here  for  the  first 
time  in  a  book  of  this  nature.  The  aim  has  been  to  find  unfamiliar  beauties  rather 
than  to  reprint  for  the  thousandth  time  what  is  already  familiar. 


THE   POETRY   OF  TENNYSON 

By  Henry  Van  Dyke,  D.D.     Fourth  Edition.     Revised  and  enlarged 

with  Poetry.      i2mo,  $2.00. 

As  a  critical  study  of  the  great  poet-laureate,  this  book  cannot  be 
surpassed.  For  preparatory  work  in  connection  with  English  require- 
ments for  admission  to  colleges,  it  will  be  found  serviceable.  Its  use, 
wherever  the  life  and  writings  of  Tennyson  are  being  considered,  will 
be  found  to  afford  special  advantages. 

"No  truer  or  more  sympathetic  presentment  and  analysis  has  been  made  of  the 
works  of  our  greatest  living  poet."— Mr.  E.  C.  Stedman. 


Heroes  and  Hero  Worship.     By  Thomas  Carlyle.     People's  Edition. 

i2mo,  40  cents. 
Sartor   Resartus.     By  Thomas  Carlyle.     People's    Edition.     i2mo, 

40  cents. 
Chaucer  for  Schools.     Edited  by  Mrs.   H.  R.  Haweis.     Svo,  $1.00. 

WILLIAM   SHAKESPERE 

A  Study  in  Elizabethan  Literature.     By  Barrett  Wendell,  Assistant 
Professor  of  English  at  Harvard  College.     Svo,  439  pages,  $1.75. 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  present  a  coherent  view  of  the  gen- 
erally accepted  facts  concerning  the  life  and  work  of  Shakespere.  To 
accomplish  this  the  first  endeavor  is  to  glance  at  the  known  facts  of 
Shakespere's  life;  then  follows  a  consideration  of  the  condition  of  Eng- 
lish literature  at  the  time  when  his  literary  activity  began;  then  critical 
attention  is  paid,  in  chronological  order,  and  with  all  the  details  pos- 
sible, to  all  of  the  works  commonly  assigned  to  him.  Finally  the 
resulting  impression  of  his  individuality  is  defined  as  fully  and 
clearly  as  is  possible. 

Contents:  I.  Introduction — II.  The  Facts  of  Shakespere's  Life — 
III.  Literature  and  the  Theatre  in  England  until  1587 — IV.  The 
Works  of  Shakespere — V.  Venus  and  Adonis,  and  The  Rape  of 
Lucrece — VI.  The  Plays  of  Shakespere  from  Titus  Andronicus  to 
The  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona — VII.  The  Plays  of  Shakespere  from 
A  Midsummer-night's  Dream  to  Twelfth  Night — VIII.  Shakespere's 
Sonnets — IX.  The  Plays  of  Shakespere  from  Julius  Ceesar  to  Corio- 
lanus — X.  Timon  of  Athens,  and  Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre — XL  The 
Plays  of  Shakespere  from  Cymbeline  to  Henry  VIII. — XII.  William 
Shakespere.     Authorities,  etc. 


THE   ART  OF  EXTEMPORE  SPEAKING 

Hints  for  the  Pulpit,  the  Senate,  and  the  Bar.  By  M.  Bautain,  Vicar- 
General  and  Professor  at  the  Sorbonne.  Edited  by  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Bar.     With  addition,  rules  of  debate,  etc.     i2mo,  $1.50. 

"  This  work  has  no  counterpart  or  rival  in  the  English  language.  Other  works 
teach  how  to  write  ;  this  contains  suggestions  on  the  art  of  speaking — easily,  agree- 
ably, forcibly." — The  Christian  Obst>i'e>. 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   ENGLISH   VERSE 

By  Sidney  Lanier,  late  of  Johns  Hopkins  University.      i2mo,  $2.00. 

Mr.  Lanier  does  not  content  himself  with  merely  combating  vigor- 
ously the  false  methods  which  have  become  traditional  in  English 
prosody,  but  presents  most  interesting  and  valuable  suggestions  for 
a  truer  method  ;  treating  verse  almost  entirely  as  analogous  with 
music — and  this  not  figuratively,  but  as  really  governed  by  the  same 
laws,  little  modified.  His  forcible  and  skillful  use  of  the  most  modern 
investigations  in  acoustics  in  supporting  this  position  makes  the  book 
not  only  a  contribution  to  literature,  but,  in  the  best  sense,  to  physi- 
cal science. 

SELECT   POEMS    OF  SIDNEY   LANIER 

Edited,  with  an  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  Morgan  Callaway,  Jr., 
Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of  English  Philology  in  the  University 
of  Texas,  formerly  Fellow  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  ; 
author  of  "The  Absolute  Participle  in  Anglo-Saxon."  i2mo, 
$1.00  net. 

"This  edition  of  the  'Select  Poems  of  Sidney  Lanier'  is  issued  in  the  hope  of 
making  his  poetry  known  to  wider  circles  than  hitherto,  especially  among  the  stu- 
dents of  our  High  Schools  and  Colleges.  To  these,  as  to  older  people,  the  poems  will, 
it  is  believed,  prove  an  inspiration  from  the  standpoint  both  of  literature  and  of  life." 

— From  the  Preface. 

ESTIMATES   OF   LANIER'S   POETRY. 

"  As  a  master  of  melodious  meter  only  Tennyson,  and  he  not  often,  has  equaled 
Lanier.  .  .  .  Enough  has  been  said  to  hint  to  those  personally  unacquainted  with 
Lanier's  works,  that,  from  an  aesthetic  view,  his  career  is  otie  of  the  most  remarkable, 
if  not  the  most  remarkable,  yet  lived  by  an  American." — William  R.  Thayer, 
editor  of"  Best  Elizabethan  Plays,"  etc..  in  The.  Independent,  N.  Y. 

"  His  poems,  which  have  been  gathered  in  a  volume,  constitute  the  most  charac- 
teristic specimens  of  American  verse  to  be  found  in  any  similar  collection.  They  are 
thoroughly  and  completely  American.  Thoughtless  critics  have  pronounced  them 
obscure,  but  other  generations  will  undoubtedly  appreciate  the  splendid  exaltation, 
the  subtle  suggestions,  the  glowing  thoughts,  the  wonderful  harmonies  of  an  imagina- 
tion not  inferior  to  Emerson's." — Joel  Chandler  Harris,  author  of  "Uncle 
Remus,"  etc. 

ELOCUTION 

The  Sources  and  Elements  of  its  Power.     A  Text-book  for  Schools  and 

Colleges,  and  a  book  for  every  Public  Speaker  and  Student  of  the 

English  Language.     By  Rev.  J.  H.  McIlvaink,  D.D.     i2mo,  $16.75. 

This   is  an   original    and    thoroughly    practical   manual,  arranged 

with  special  reference  to  class-room  use  and  convenience  of  students. 

Nearly  half  the  work  consists  in   the  exhibition   of  the   intellectual, 

moral,  asthetical,  and  physical  sources  of  power  in  delivery;   the  other 

part  contains  several   chapters  on  phonology  and   treats  in   detail   the 

articulation,    accent,    and    pronunciation,    the    relation    of   the    vocal 

organs  to  vocal  culture,  the  qualities  and  powers  of  the  voice,  etc. 

Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Educational  Publications  sent  free.  Privileges  of 
Examination,  Introductory  Prices,  Regular  A'a/rs  to  Instructors,  to  Libraries,  and 
to  the  Trade,  will  be  cheerfully  furnished  upon  application. 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

lS?>-1'il  Fifth  Avenue,  -  -  New  York  City 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL, 

L06  ANOELTSS.  <-  OA  L. 


FOfy 


£ 


m# 


^OFCALIFO/?^      ^Kh 


M 


>■         =3 


r< 


£7       ^, 


"^/hhainihvvv       ^A«vaan#      yom 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


NO  PHONE  RflNEWALb 


APR  ©  8  2990 


fltOCTUlflS 


^WEUNIVER^ 


rJr 


^clOS-J 


% 


^lOSl 


£> 


sf 


.5ME-UNIVERS/A 


<TJ133NV  SOl^^ 


^lOSMEUfc* 

so 

SO 


3  1158  01085  8115 


vr 


I  I  5 


fr» 


*<y 


^     ?? 


jfcAHvaaiH^      ^Aavnain^5, 


^HIBRARYQ^       ^LIBRARY*?/ 


-53SE-UWVERS/A 


^clOS-ANGHQ^ 


%0JIW3-JO^       %0JITV3JO^         <Tii30NVS01^        %i!3A!Nfl&V 


^0KAIIFC% 


*tOF-CAllF(%> 

ixiws 


^amih^      ^AHvaaitt^ 


.5JAE-UMIVERS/A 


^lOSANC 


O 


^WEUNIVERS/A       ^lOSANGElfr.* 


<r§ 


CO 

so 


i~ky%  s>=ni 


<r> 


AA    000  352  154 

ML! 


vfyv 


3 


^E-UNIVEM/a 


,v*10S-ANGE15j 


5   =foQ 


^JUWSOl^ 


v/5a3AIN(l-3WV* 


^0FCALIF(% 


^0FCALIFC% 


y0AHVU8IB^        -^AMItt^ 


<$UIBRARY0/        #LIBRARYQc 


3 


^OJITVD-JO^ 


aweuniver% 


^:10S-ANCEIFJ^ 


%a3AlN03WV 


^OKALIFOfyg,       ^0FCAIIFC%, 


<*WEUNIVER%        vvlOSANCElfj}> 


ffHHL— 

HflHE 


